Friends
This morning’s jobs report certainly stirred up the markets. Not only did the July number come in much lighter than expected (73,000 new jobs vs. an estimate of about 100,000 to150,000) but May and June’s numbers were revised much lower. The President wants the Fed Chair to lower rates and today’s jobs data should provide the runway to do so. Ironically, the President is attempting to kill the messenger demanding that Commissioner of Labor Statistics be fired. The data supports his case to lower rates. Saying the data is incorrect actually works against his desire for lower interest rates. Anyway, bonds rallied (rates tumbled), and stocks sold off.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial was down 542 points to finish the day at 43,588. The S&P 500 was down 101 points to close at 6,238. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 472 points to close at 20,650. Gold was up $63 to trade at $3,411 per ounce, while oil was down $2.00 to trade at $67.26 per barrel WTI.
The markets didn’t like this morning’s data, but they also didn’t like the fact that the data’s legitimacy is being called into question. However you slice it, it was a difficult start to the month for stocks. We’ll marinate some ice cubes this weekend and be back at it on Monday.
Have a great weekend everyone.
