US Stock Market Overview – Stocks Rise, Led by Materials, Facebook is Sued by HUD

US stocks moved higher on Thursday. All three major indices rose approximately 0.35%. Most sectors were higher led by Materials and real-estate, while Utilities and Communication severcies bucked the trend. Technology shares rebounded after sliding on Wednesday but have yet to retake the leadership role seen earlier in March. Jobs data continue to impress with claims falling to another low. Facebook was in the news today, as the HUD sued the social media giant for unfair advertising practices. While the Mueller investigation has moved into the background, the Trump administration is again attacking healthcare.

Facebook is Accused of Violating Fair Housing Laws

Department of Housing and Urban Development reported on Thursday that it was charging Facebook with violating fair housing laws. Facebook is being accused of filtering who can view advertisements on its platform. The charges were announced by the Ben Carson the Secretary of the Department for violations under the Fair Housing Act. The charges are civil and HUD claims that Facebook let advertisers exclude people from viewing real-estate ads based on criteria including citizenship status, interest in Hispanic culture, and gender along with a deluge of other categories.

The Job Market Gets Tighter

Initial Jobless claims for unemployment insurance declined by 5k to 211k for the week ended March 23, according to the Labor Department. Expectations were for an increase to 225K. The four-week moving average of initial claims, fell 3,250 to 217,250 last week. The low numbers that the BLS is reporting shows that the market is tighter than most people expect.

China is Attempting to Play Nice

China is offering tech firms better access to the country’s fast-growing cloud-computing market, to ease some of the tension as show the US that it is open to comply with part of a trade deal. Premier Li Keqiang disclosed the proposal to allow trial operations for foreign cloud service providers. The plan is part of a package of offers on technology-related issues Chinese negotiators are expected to discuss with their US counterparts. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, are to hold the new round of talks with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in Beijing to try to close a deal to end the yearlong trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies.

Democrats Want the Full Mueller Report

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed Thursday for a quick release of the Mueller report on the Russian medling in the US 2016 elections. Congress wants to see the full report but Attorney General Barr refused to give a timeline. Congress wants to see the full document to draw its own conclusions rather than relying on Attorney General William Barr’s summary. Mr. Barr provided a four-page summary of the report’s findings to Congress on Sunday, raising questions about many details in what is expected to be a 300-page report.