Friends
Today’s jobs number came up just a little shy of expectations. Actually it came up about a half a million jobs shy of expectations. Analysts immediately blamed the Delta variant for the huge miss, and I’m sure that is a factor, but perhaps the great reopening is slowing down a little sooner than expected. Regardless, market participants seemed to look past today’s number and after a weak opening, stocks mostly recovered and bond yields actually rose a little.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 74 points to finish the day at 35,369. The S&P 500 was down 1 point to close at 4,535. The Nasdaq was up 32 points close at 15,363. Gold was up $20 to trade at $1,831 per ounce, while oil was down $.75 to trade at $69.24 per barrel WTI.
Yes, economic data has been less than stellar lately, but as mentioned investors appear to be staying focused on the long term and holding onto the belief that we will get past this latest setback in the pandemic fight and come out stronger on the other side. Will today’s disappointing jobs number give the Fed Chair more cover to extend asset purchases past recent expectations? Whatever the case the resiliency of the stock market continues to be impressive.
Have a great Labor Day Weekend everyone.
