Last Week, Next Week: Macro & Markets, October 6, 2024 – TipRanks.com

Everything You Need to Know About Macro and Markets

Stocks rallied after the September jobs report, and Friday’s strong rally helped indexes retrace past losses and post a fourth straight weekly gain. S&P 500 (SPX) gained 0.22% for the week, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIAchanged to -0.09%. Meanwhile, the technical indices Nasdaq Composite (My love) and the Nasdaq-100 (NDX) rose by 0.10% and 0.13%, respectively.

Missiles, Missiles and Options

After locking in its best September in more than a decade, US stocks started the fourth quarter on a sour note. In addition to political uncertainty ahead of the upcoming November elections and concerns about the health of the economy, markets have found other reasons for concern. A strike at East Coast ports threatened to disrupt economic activity, Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc in the southwestern United States, and escalating hostilities in the Middle East increase economic and political instability.

A major escalation of conflict in the Middle East dampened investor sentiment. Oil prices rose after Iran attacked Israel, and the world is waiting for Israel’s expected response. While the scope and direction of Israel’s retaliatory measures are still unknown, the possibility of targeting Iran’s oil resources continues to act as a bullish market sentiment.

Less than a month before the election, the tight race will continue to keep investors. Historically, market volatility tends to increase in the weeks leading up to an election, and stocks often fall before the big day. However, history also tells us that stocks tend to recover strongly after Election Day regardless of who wins, celebrating the decline in the number of candidates. steady.

Although the port strike has been resolved quickly, removing the threat of a negative impact on the supply chain, concerns about politics and politics are still dangerous in the sense of danger. However, the latest jobs data at least eases the stress on the economy.

Good News Is Good Again

After the Federal Reserve’s jumbo cut in September, market participants debated the size of the next interest rate cut, while traders even saw the possibility of a cut between 0.25% and 0.50%. However, the chances of another jumbo cut have dropped to near zero after data showed the US economy added 254,000 jobs in September, the most in six months. and almost twice the new expected salary figure. Aside from the blockbuster headline, labor data was better than expected across the board, with the unemployment rate falling to 4.1% and wages rising more than expected. . In addition, the job growth figures for July and August were revised higher, as was August’s wage growth.

These numbers not only highlight the continued stability of the labor market but increase odds that the economy will continue to grow at a faster rate than in the current quarter. While the jobs data dampened hopes of a bigger rate cut, the numbers raised risk sentiment that had been under pressure before. Investors view a strong economy as better for stock markets, as a sharp decline can mean a weaker economy.

Money That Makes News

¤ The energy sector had its best week in nearly two years, rising 7% and breaking a six-month low. The second best performer among the S&P 500 sectors last week, Communications Services, rose 2.2%. Real Estate was the worst performer last week, down 1.9%, followed by Consumer Staples with a 1.6% decline.

¤ OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, closed its latest round of funding at a valuation of $157 billion – roughly the same as Goldman Sachs (GS) and more than any other private company of the US. more than 87% of S&P 500 companies. Besides OpenAI itself, one of the winners of its financial success is Microsoft (MSFT), which has a large stake in the company, having invested about some $ 13 billion.

¤ Nvidia (NVDA) ended the week with a gain of more than 4.4% after CEO Jensen Huang announced that Blackwell, its latest AI chip is now in full production and meeting strong demand after it has encountered a delay in production before.

¤ Tesla (TSLA) stock fell 4.7% on the week after the EV maker reported a disappointing third quarter and recalled more than 27K Cybertrucks due to problems with rear imaging.

¤ Humana (HUM) was the worst performer among S&P 500 stocks last week. Shares of the health provider fell by nearly 25% after it warned of a sharp decline in membership of its top plans (four stars and above).

¤ Nike (NKE) fell nearly 8% on the week after the athletic shoe maker reported a drop in quarterly revenue and withdrew its guidance for the full year.

Future earnings and dividend announcements

Q3 earnings season officially kicks off this Friday with a slate of big bank reports. Several news earnings updates are scheduled this week, mostly from companies whose fiscal years differ from the previous calendar year.

Companies reporting this week are PepsiCo (PEP), Delta Air Lines (DAL), Domino’s Pizza (DPZ), Progressive (PGR), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), BlackRock (BLK), Bank of New York Mellon (BK), and Fastenal Company (FAST).

Financial dates coming up this week for McCormick & Company (MKC), Edison International (EIX), Dollar General (DG), American Tower (AMT), AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ), General Mills (GIS) , and other dividend paying firms.

For more exclusive market insights and news from TipRanks Macro & Markets research expert Yulia Vaiman, Click here.