March 2021 ISM and Markit Manufacturing surveys improve (SPY +1.1%). U.S. stocks close sharply higher to cap holiday-shortened week.
The Market in Perspective
Here are the headlines moving the markets.
Saudi Aramco s Falling Profits Put Vision 2030 In Jeopardy Saudi Aramcos profits fell by nearly 50% in 2020 as the pandemic battered oil markets and an oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia sent oil prices to record lows. Not even the worlds largest oil company could escape the devastation, although it did manage to remain profitable unlike many of its competitors. For Saudi Arabia, a country whose entire economy is virtually monopolized by the state-owned oil company, Aramcos 44.4% drop in profits meant a whopping 30.7% decline in oil revenues for the Saudi government.