Friends
Today sure felt like a Monday. Anyway, on the Friday after the 4thof July, traders waited for the all-important government non-farm payroll data and it was worth the wait. After a decent private sector ADP report on Wednesday, today’s number came in at a very nice 195,000 new jobs having been created in June. The unemployment rate remained at 7.6%, but that is going to be difficult to lower if the continued improvement draws some long term unemployed folks back into looking for jobs. Now comes the fun part. Is this good news good for the markets? Well, that is a mixed picture. Stocks seem to be coming to grips with the fact that the Fed may be able to begin to taper sooner than later, but bonds are having a difficult time with it all.
As for stocks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average began the day with a 100 point plus gain, only to see it disappear in early morning trading. But as the day wore on, the bulls regained the high ground, and the Dow finished the day up 147 points to close at 15,136. The S&P 500 was up 16 points to finish the day at 1631. Gold was down $30 to trade at $1221 per ounce, while oil was up $2 to trade at $103.24 per barrel WTI. I haven’t really commented on the events in Egypt, as I’m not sure how it affects the markets here, other than helping drive oil prices higher in the short run. Without trying to minimize the mess over there or be disrespectful, but, is it just me or is this Arab Spring thing not working out too well?
We’ll have our 3rd quarter outlook ready for you later next week. In it we will discuss the adjustment process going on in the markets at this moment. In the meantime, earnings season begins next week with Alcoa kicking everything off after the close on Monday. Traders will be back from the beach on Monday, so let’s see how the week begins.
Have a nice weekend everyone.
