Daily Data Flow: Stocks Fall as Fed Sticks to Plan; Most States Still above 10% “Real” Unemployment; Hong Kong Positive for First Month Since January

Stocks Fall as Fed Sticks to Plan (Bloomberg)
Stocks fell today, as payroll and manufacturing growth slowed and the Federal Reserve announced it will continue buying bonds to support the economy. “It’s more of the same,” Kevin Holt, of the Invesco Comstock Fund in Houston, said. “The existing policy guideline kind of continues. We didn’t expect anything different out of the Fed at this point of time. We had a good run. For the market to go higher at this point, we need to see stronger economic growth, we need to see more sustainable employment growth.”

Most States Still above 10% “Real” Unemployment (CNBC)
Recent data has shown that, though the GDP may be slightly larger than current estimates, economy growth is still the worst in more than eight decades. This is evident when examining “real” unemployment numbers, which, besides the jobless, also take into account the discouraged and underemployed; only six states boast rates beneath ten percent.

Hong Kong Positive for First Month Since January (Reuters)
Wrapping up April at its highest point in seven weeks, the Hong Kong Market had its first month in the black since January. Hong Kong market benchmark Hang Seng showed gains of just over two percent for the fourth month of this year.