5 Things to Know In the Market on Monday

1. Chinese economy accelerates at faster than expected pace
With no major economic data in Europe or the U.S. scheduled for release on Monday, the focus was on China.
The Chinese economy grew 1.3% in the first quarter of the year with the annual expansion hitting 6.9%, beating expectations for a 6.8% rise.
The world’s second largest economy also saw industrial production increase 7.6% in March, compared to forecasts for a 6.3% rise, while retail sales gained 10.9%, topping estimates for a 9.6% advance.

2. Weak retail sales and inflation on the radar
U.S. retail sales fell for a second straight month in March and consumer prices dropped for the first time in just over a year, underscoring the magnitude of the loss of economic growth momentum in the first quarter.
Specifically, retail sales dropped 0.2% last month compared to expectations for 0.1% decline.
Meanwhile, the consumer price index (CPI) decreased 0.3% from the prior month while annual inflation eased to 2.4%.

3. Global stocks cautious on holiday thin trade
Global equities maintained a cautious stance on Monday as geopolitical tensions on the Korean peninsula continued to keep markets in check. The Dow Jones Shanghai closing down 0.62%, while the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.01%.

4. Big week for Dow earnings
After JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) launched the unofficial start of the first quarter reporting season last Thursday, investors will be gearing up for a string of earnings releases this week from blue chip companies such as American Express (NYSE:AXP), General Electric (NYSE:GE), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), IBM (NYSE:IBM), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Verizon (NYSE:VZ) and Visa (NYSE:V).
For the broader market, earnings are forecast to grow 10.1% from a year ago, the best since 2014, while sales growth is expected to jump by 7.5%, the best since 2011, according to Thomson Reuter’s data.

5. Oil slumps as U.S. continues to up production
Oil traded lower on Monday as U.S. investors returned from a three-day Easter break and took profits after three straight weeks of gains after data showed that U.S. drilling activity continued to increase. U.S. crude oil futures fell 0.79% to $52.76.

Source: Investing
Trader I.Ivanov