Your Weekly Update for Monday, April 6, 2026.
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Bill Roller
NMLS #107972
CHARTERED FINANCIAL ANALYST
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM
CHARTERED MARKET TECHNICIAN
bill.roller@beaconrwa.com
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Click on the image below to go to https://youtu.be/TJJbgJpjoyc to see the video from April 6 in which Bill Roller presents the financial update for the week.
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Summary
Markets were DOWN again last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was DOWN 0.90% to 45,166.64 while the S&P500 ended DOWN 2.12% to 6,368.85. The Nasdaq Composite FELL 3.23% to 20,948.36. The annual yield on the 30-year Treasury ROSE 2.2 basis point(s) to 4.982%.
Economic Notes
- Weekly Initial Claims 202K (Briefing.com consensus 215; Prior was revised to 211K from 210K, Weekly Continuing Claims 1.841 mln; Prior was revised to 1.816 mln from 1.819 mln. The key takeaway from the report is that initial claims remain near the 200,000 mark, reflecting a low-firing environment.
- February Trade Balance -$57.3 bln (Briefing.com consensus -$55.8 bln); Prior was revised to -$54.7 bln from -$54.5 bln. The key takeaway from the report is that February imports grew more than exports even though February nonfuel import prices (+1.1%) increased at a slower pace than non-agricultural export prices (+1.7%).
- Fed/Treasury Events Summary: Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan (voting FOMC member) gives speech titled “The banking system and the demand for reserves”
- March employment report was released Friday when markets were closed. Initial jobless claims for the week ending March 28 fell by 9,000 to 202,000 (Briefing.com consensus 215,000) from last week’s revised reading of 211,000 (from 210,000). Continuing claims increased by 25,000 to 1.841 million from last week’s revised reading of 1.816 million (from 1.819 million).
The key takeaway from the report is that initial claims remain near the 200,000 mark, reflecting a low-firing environment.
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- The four-week moving average for initial claims decreased by 3,000 to 207,750.
- The four-week moving average for continuing claims decreased by 7,500 to 1,838,750, the lowest level since September 28, 2024.
- The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending March 14 was 2,067,717, a decrease of 63,758 from the previous week. Claims filed in the comparable week a year ago totaled 2,103,858.
- Upcoming Economic Data: March ISM Non-Manufacturing Index due out Monday at 10:00 ET (Briefing.com consensus 54.8%; Prior 56.1%)
Market Notes
S&P futures vs fair value: +6.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +88.00.
- Equity futures point to a modestly higher opening this morning after the major averages finished little changed on Friday, though the indices captured gains of 3.0% or wider for the week.
- Last week’s rally was supported by some optimism that a ceasefire could be reached between the U.S. and Iran, as well as commentary from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who noted that inflation expectations remain well anchored past the near term.
- Developments on the geopolitical and energy fronts continue to drive headlines this morning, with Axios reporting that the U.S., Iran, and mediators are discussing a 45-day ceasefire agreement that could lead to the end of the war, though sources say the chances of striking a deal are slim.
- President Trump said that if a deal is not reached by the Tuesday deadline, Iran will face a new wave of attacks against infrastructure sites.
- Crude oil is down modestly to around $110 per barrel, though Bloomberg reports that Iran has rejected opening the Strait of Hormuz as a part of any ceasefire deal.
- Elsewhere, corporate news flow is once again on the lighter side, coming off the long weekend, with Q1 earnings season looming ahead.
- The 10:00 a.m. ET release of the ISM Services PMI (Briefing.com consensus 54.9%) is the only economic data release of note on today’s calendar.
- In corporate news:
- Strait of Hormuz traffic has reached its highest level in weeks, according to Bloomberg.
- Soleno Therapeutics (SLNO 46, +12.97, +32.8%) to be acquired by Neurocrine Biosciences(NBIX 128.00,-3.60, -2.7%) for $53.00 per share
- Tesla (TSLA 00, +3.41, +1.0%) saw its March South Korea sales increase by 300%, according to Reuters.
- Reviewing overnight developments: Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region began the week on a mixed note while markets in China, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand were closed for holidays. Japan’s Nikkei: +0.6%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng: HOLIDAY, China’s Shanghai Composite: HOLIDAY, India’s Sensex: +1.1%, South Korea’s Kospi: +1.4%, Australia’s ASX All Ordinaries: HOLIDAY.
- In news:
- Japan’s Prime Minister Takaichi will travel to Australia to secure Japan’s rare earth supply chain and discuss cooperation regarding the Strait of Hormuz.
- China’s government reported that its consumer goods trade-in program generated revenue of CNY433 bln in Q1.
- India purchased its first shipment of crude oil from Iran since 2019.
- In economic data:
- India’s March Services PMI 57.5 (expected 57.2; last 57.2)
- Singapore’s February Retail Sales -4.1% m/m (last 6.0%); 8.3% yr/yr (last -0.5%)
- Major European markets remain closed for Easter, scheduled to reopen tomorrow.
- In news:
- The overall narrative has remained focused on the developments in the U.S.-Iran conflict with Iran facing a Tuesday deadline to loosen its grip on maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz or face crippling strikes on its bridges and energy infrastructure.
- Meanwhile, the Bank of England is split on a best approach to the oil-related inflationary spike, according to FT.
- The Bank of Italy trimmed its 2026 growth forecast to 0.5% from 0.6% while the outlook for 2027 was reduced to 0.5% from 0.8%.
- In economic data: Spain’s March Unemployment Change -22,900 (expected 10,300; last 3,600)
Mortgage Rates
“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage edged up, averaging 6.46% this week,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “With spring homebuying season in full swing, aspiring buyers should remember to shop around for the best mortgage rate, as they can potentially save thousands of dollars by getting multiple quotes.”
The 30-year FRM averaged 6.46% as of April 2, 2026, up from last week when it averaged 6.38%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.64%.
The 15-year FRM averaged 5.77%, up from last week when it averaged 5.75%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.82%.
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Selected Cryptocurrencies
| Symbol | Name | Price | 24h % | 7d % | Market Cap | Volume(24h) |
| BTC | Bitcoin | $69,490.82 | 3.87% | 2.40% | $1,390,663,792,154 | $34,945,622,404 |
| ETH | Ethereum | $2,148.80 | 5.42% | 3.76% | $259,341,813,078 | $16,151,465,726 |
| XRP | XRP | $1.34 | 4.09% | -0.29% | $82,730,595,239 | $2,062,906,386 |
| BNB | BNB | $604.76 | 2.01% | -2.22% | $82,463,568,408 | $1,488,992,210 |
| SOL | Solana | $82.27 | 3.25% | -2.30% | $47,139,830,505 | $3,479,238,640 |
| TRX | TRON | $0.32 | -0.20% | -1.70% | $30,152,854,850 | $489,758,556 |
| DOGE | Dogecoin | $0.09 | 3.08% | 0.07% | $15,749,165,896 | $1,018,770,499 |
| HYPE | Hyperliquid | $37.09 | 4.32% | -2.84% | $9,494,097,983 | $170,778,130 |
| LEO | UNUS SED LEO | $10.11 | 0.32% | 4.22% | $9,318,479,261 | $458,904 |
| ADA | Cardano | $0.26 | 5.79% | 2.02% | $9,223,913,132 | $517,958,364 |
| BCH | Bitcoin Cash | $439.47 | 1.83% | -3.85% | $8,797,101,529 | $248,632,173 |
| LINK | Chainlink | $9.04 | 6.03% | 1.80% | $6,576,444,522 | $513,731,792 |
| XMR | Monero | $328.99 | 0.55% | -2.05% | $6,068,842,951 | $70,987,338 |
| USDe | Ethena USDe | $1.00 | 0.03% | 0.07% | $5,886,548,265 | $51,117,778 |
| XLM | Stellar | $0.16 | 2.88% | -6.01% | $5,375,872,718 | $103,861,602 |
| DAI | Dai | $1.00 | 0.00% | 0.00% | $5,364,547,192 | $116,567,381 |
| CC | Canton | $0.14 | -0.29% | -9.02% | $5,337,413,290 | $5,706,406 |
| USD1 | World Liberty Financial USD | $1.00 | 0.02% | 0.03% | $4,397,855,604 | $1,129,221,073 |
4:45 AM PDT, Monday, April 6, 2026. Source: https://coinmarketcap.com
If you know someone age 62 or over who is feeling stressed financially and considering a reverse mortgage please send them this excellent piece with general information about reverse mortgages at: https://beaconrwa.com/reversemortgageguidebrwa/
Sources: Bill Roller, BR Capital, Inc. dba Beacon Rock Wealth Advisors American Association for Individual Investors (AAII), Associated Press, Barclays Capital, Bloomberg, Briefing.com, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, FactSet, Financial Times, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Asset Management, MarketfieldAsset Management, Morgan Stanley, MSCI, Morningstar, Northern Trust, Oppenheimer Funds, PIMCO, Standard & Poor’s, StockCharts.com, The Conference Board, Thomson Reuters, T. Rowe Price, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Federal Reserve, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post. Index performance is shown as total return, which includes dividends, with the exception of MSCI-EM, which is quoted as price return/excluding dividends. Performance for the MSCI-EAFE and MSCI-EM indexes is quoted in U.S. Dollar investor terms.
The information above has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but no representation is made as to its completeness, accuracy or timeliness. All information and opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. Information provided in this report is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, investment, legal or tax advice; and does not constitute an offer, or a solicitation of any offer, to buy or sell any security, investment or other product BR Capital, Inc. dba Beacon Rock Wealth Advisors is a registered investment advisor.
Notes key: (+) positive/encouraging development, (0) neutral/inconclusive/no net effect, (-) negative/discouraging development.