bitcoin
Flickr / dekstop
Stock market sell-offs continue to be short-lived.
First the scoreboard:
Dow: 14,662, +89.1 pts, +0.6 percent

S&P 500: 1,570, +8.0 pts, +0.5 percent

NASDAQ: 3,254, +15.6 pts, +0.4 percent

And now the top stories:
  • U.S. factory orders rose by 3.0 percent in February, which was a tad higher than the 2.9 percent gain expected by economists.  Nevertheless, the report reinforced the idea that the U.S. economy is in better shape then most think.

  • U.S. auto sales data continues to roll out.  Ford, GM, and Chrysler all reported mid-single digit growth in their March sales.  Economist expect that the final tally will show that automakers sold 15.4 million vehicles on a seasonally-adjusted annual rate.

  • Otherwise, it was a quiet day for U.S. economic data.  The stock market recovered most of yesterday's losses, which shows that this bull market still seems to have legs.

  • Gold, on the other hand, took a nasty tumble falling over 1.5 percent.  In a new note to clients, the analysts at Societe Generale declared "The End Of The Gold Era."  From the note: "Professional sentiment, as evidenced by heavy redemptions in ETFs and the increasing willingness of managed money investors to trade from the short side, confirms our view that gold may have had its “last hurrah”."