US stock indexes may make another run for records

MAJOR US indexes could make another run for records this week, as long as earnings reports from big banks such as JPMorgan Chase keep "Trump trades" alive.

The jobs market lost steam by one measure in March, with only 98,000 jobs added, roughly half the average additions during the recovery. But the unemployment rate of 4.5 per cent was the lowest in decades. Expectations of a rate hike moved higher in the wake of the report and the US dollar, whose gains were slimmed substantially in the last couple of weeks amid doubts about President Donald Trump's policies, put much of that weight back on.

The rapid military response from the US to the Syrian government's apparent use of sarin gas came as a surprise to all, given Mr Trump's opposition to the use of American forces in what he'd described as a civil war. The market reaction was muted however, with only moderate gains for gold futures where investors often take cover in times of war. That was partly because the administration…