In Markets "In a Nutshell"

Markets “In a Nutshell” for September 9, 2024

Investment Week at a Glance

Stocks finished lower for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.90%, the S&P 500 was down 4.20%, and the NASDAQ fell 5.80%. Foreign stocks (MSCI EAFE) were also down, falling 2.50%. Bond prices were up for the week, with the 10-year U.S. Treasury ending the week at 3.72%.  (Data source: Wall Street Journal)

Labor Market Weakening

The August jobs report was released last week, and unemployment fell from 4.3% to 4.2%. Although this is good news, the underlying data was not all that well. There are now around 7.7 million job openings, the lowest number we have seen this year. ADP private employment data showed 99,000 new jobs added, the lowest level since 2021. The U.S. non-farm jobs report showed new jobs come in at 142,000, well below the expected 165,000. There were also revisions to the past months lowering the actual number of new jobs to a 3-month average of 116,000, well below the 3-year average of 334,000. While this data clearly shows the labor market is weakening, it is not at recession worry levels yet. Hopefully, it can stabilize in the coming months.

Sector Performance

Markets have not had a good start to September as just last week all the major indices were down with the NASDAQ getting hit the hardest, falling nearly 6%. When looking at sector performance for the month, the only positive one has been consumer staples. Utilities and real estate were down by less than 0.5% to round out the top 3 performing sectors. Although there weren’t many gains to be had last week, there was still a broadening out as tech and communication services got hit the hardest while the sectors that trailed the market the past couple of years were more stable. This market volatility could remain over the next few months as the market digests the rate cut cycle starting and election season coming closer. The market will be paying close attention to rates in the next week and a half as the Fed looks to cut at the September 18th meeting.

Quiz:

What is the historical average unemployment rate in the United States? (Scroll Down for Answer)

  1.     3.7%
  2.     4.9%
  3.     5.7%
  4.     6.3%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer below.

 

 

Have a Great Week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer:

3.  5.7%.  Although we are seeing unemployment ticking up, we are still well below the historical average.