Friends
Stocks were looking to open lower this morning before the release of the ADP private payroll number, so the soft ADP number didn’t help the situation any. We already know that consumer spending has been soft, now we get a soft employment number to add to the mix. Of course, this recent earnings season confirmed that corporate America is struggling, so adding it all up we get a less than stellar economic picture (though in fairness, the ISM and PMI Service Sector numbers were pretty good today). Perhaps Friday’s non-farm payroll number will prove today’s ADP number to be an aberration. We’ll see on Friday.
As for stocks, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 99 points to finish the day at 17,651. The S&P 500 was down 12 points to close at 2051. Gold was down $10 to trade at $1,281 per ounce, while oil was up $.23 to trade at $43.88 per barrel WTI.
After this week, the aforementioned earnings season will begin to wind down. The numbers will reveal that stocks are unlikely to get a boost from improving earnings. Given that multiples are already a bit stretched, it’s not a surprise that stocks have hit a bit of a speed bump at this point. Let’s see how we trade into Friday’s job number.
Have a nice evening everyone.
