Friends
Stocks tried to rally early, failed, moved into negative territory, and then attempted to recover late in the trading session. We had a little bad news is good news before the open this morning as the ADP private payroll number came in lighter than expected. 132,000 private sector jobs were created in August as opposed to the nearly 300,000 jobs expected. Remember, the Fed and the markets are looking for softer economic data, especially on the employment side, to help fight inflation, so bad data is good. Well, you know what I mean.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 280 points to finish the day at 31,510. The S&P 500 was down 31 points to close at 3,955. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 66 points to close at 11,816. Gold was down $14 to trade at $1,721 per ounce, while oil was down $2.49 to trade at $89.15 per barrel WTI.
After today’s private payroll number, all eyes will be on Friday’s non-farm payroll number. Remember, softer data would be welcome by the markets. Crazy, I know but that is the environment that we find ourselves in now. The markets want the Fed to be successful is curbing inflation as quickly as possible. We’ll let you know how the rest of the week finishes out as we head into the Labor Day weekend.
Have a nice evening everyone.
