The S&P 500 Index and the NASDAQ Composite finished slightly higher on Monday, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished in the red, primarily because of news about China canceling $6 billion in orders with Boeing. For the day, economic data was light but showed factory orders down 0.5% month over month, slightly higher than the consensus forecast. All three major indices moved lower on Tuesday as new trade tensions made headlines and lowered global growth concerns. The S&P 500 Index fell 0.61% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite fell 0.72% and 0.56%, respectively. Internationally, the International Monetary Fund cut its global economic growth forecasts for 2019 from 3.5% down to 3.3% and warned that growth could slow further because of trade tensions and the potential for a messy Brexit. Also driving the day’s action was news that the United States is proposing to levy tariffs on some $11 billion of imports from Europe. Reaction to the Fed Minutes was muted Wednesday, showing the Fed having rate flexibility in the year and no base expectations of a rate cut. This came alongside CPI data that saw prices rising 1.9% year over year, with the core rate (excluding food and energy) up 2%. Small-Caps were the big winners mid-week with the Russell 2000 up 1.4%, and the S&P 500 up 0.35%, led by biotechnology stocks and the Energy sector. All major indices finished up Thursday after Financial sector earnings started off positive. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.03%, the NASDAQ Composite up 0.46%, and the S&P 500 Index up 0.66%. Friday kicked off with sizable gains with the major indices hanging on to those gains throughout the day. The markets were likely encouraged by news that China’s exports in March were up compared to the year before.