Soft Jobs Data, Inflation on Deck, the Fed’s next move.
The Weekly Update
Week of September 9th, 2024
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®
Stocks fell last week as soft economic data rattled investors focused on the Fed’s next move with interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.93 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 4.25 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 5.77 percent. The MSCI EAFE Index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, declined 2.91 percent.
Economic Data Unsettles Investors
The four-day trading week got off to a rough start as weak manufacturing data reawakened recessionary fears. All three major averages were down for the first session after the Labor Day holiday. For many, it was reminiscent of August 5, when stocks tumbled as recession worries unsettled investors.3
Attention shifted to Friday’s jobs report as stocks traded narrowly. Markets initially reacted positively to news that job growth rebounded slightly, and unemployment ticked down. However, selling pressure increased as the trading …
