Tag: Renews

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Stocks drop after strong jobs data renews rate worries

Stocks drop after strong jobs data renews rate worries

U.S. stocks slid Friday to close the week lower as investors weighed May jobs data that likely gave Fed policymakers a signal labor market conditions can weather a more aggressive rate hiking cycle.

Friday’s sell-off was led by tech stocks, with the Nasdaq Composite falling 2.5{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}. The S&P 500 fell 1.6{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 350 points, or 1{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}.

Treasury yields rose following Friday’s jobs data, with the yield on 10-year Treasury jumping as much as 7 basis points to just below 3{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}, before retreating to finish the week at 2.96{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}.

The Labor Department’s latest monthly employment report published Friday morning showed 390,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in May, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 3.6{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}. Economists had expected job gains to total 318,000 with the unemployment rate falling to 3.5{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}, per Bloomberg consensus data.

Although job growth slowed from April, the labor market remains tight, suggesting the Federal Reserve may proceed with tightening monetary conditions further by raising interest rates — a point of worry for investors who fear central bank policies may tip the economy into a recession.

“Overall, it seems like the job creation machine runs on full-steam and anecdotal evidence has it that hiring remains difficult for businesses of all sizes as demand outpaces supply,” Christian Scherrmann, DWS’ U.S. Economist said in a note.

“Looking ahead, the Fed is most likely to feel reassured that it has struck the right balance lately,” Scherrmann added. “That, in turn, means it is likely to stick to its aggressive monetary normalization path.”

Furthermore, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester indicated in an interview with CNBC Friday that she supports half point hikes at the next two policy-setting meetings in June and July, and more in autumn if prices don’t cool. Investors had previously hoped for a pause after the summer months.

“I’m going to come into the September meeting, if I don’t see compelling evidence [that inflation is cooling], I could easily be at 50 basis points in that meeting as well,” she said.

In Friday’s session, shares of Tesla (TSLA) closed down more than 9{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} to $703.55 per share after Reuters reported CEO Elon Musk warned of a “super bad feeling” about the economy and said the company is expected to trim about 10{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} of salaried jobs in an email to executives.

Musk also motioned management to “pause all hiring worldwide” in the note. ​​The electric-vehicle giant joins a growing docket of companies that have recently reported grappling with headwinds from macroeconomic uncertainty.

Musk’s warning comes just days after JPMorgan Chase (JPM) boss Jamie Dimon cautioned of a “hurricane” bearing down on the U.S. economy.

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4:00 p.m. ET: S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq drop amid jobs data, rate worries

Here’s where the main indexes capped the holiday-shortened trading week:

  • S&P 500 (^GSPC): -68.39 (-1.64{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 4,108.43

  • Dow (^DJI): -349.37 (-1.05{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 32,898.91

  • Nasdaq (^IXIC): -304.16 (-2.47{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 12,012.73

  • Crude (CL=F): +$3.43 (+2.93{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $120.30 a barrel

  • Gold (GC=F): -$17.60 (-0.94{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $1,853.80 per ounce

  • 10-year Treasury (^TNX): +4.4 bps to yield 2.9570{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}

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9:35 a.m. ET: Stocks slide as investors mull better-than-expected May employment data

Here were the main moves in markets at the opening bell Friday:

  • S&P 500 (^GSPC): -48.76 (-1.17{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 4,128.06

  • Dow (^DJI): -289.00 (-0.87{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 32,959.28

  • Nasdaq (^IXIC): -218.39 (-1.77{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 12,098.51

  • Crude (CL=F): +$0.34 (+0.29{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $117.21 a barrel

  • Gold (GC=F): -$8.60 (-0.46{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $1,862.80 per ounce

  • 10-year Treasury (^TNX): +7.2 bps to yield 2.9850{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}

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8:51 a.m. ET: A few early highlights from a first pass at the jobs report

The headline numbers on the May jobs report were right down the middle.

But underneath the surface we’ve got a few indications of where the winds are blowing in a dynamic U.S. labor market.

The number of workers employed in retail fell by 60,700 last month, a sign we’re likely to see folks interpret as indicative of a softening consumer backdrop. The 47,000-worker increase in transportation and warehousing, however, suggests the Amazon side of the retail economy remains intact for now.

Industry-level data also shows leisure & hospitality logged the biggest gains last month, which comes as little surprise given the indications we’ve seen from travel-related plays about their demand backdrop leading into the summer months.

In terms of labor market composition, a 211,000-worker decline in the labor force is notable, as retirements were seen as a headwind last year to the labor market making a full and timely recovery from the pandemic-induced shock.

The duration of unemployment data also gives us an interesting look at the “barbell” structure of the labor market right now — more than 100,000 fewer workers were classified as either unemployed for less than 5 weeks or unemployed for more than 27 weeks. So we see the short-term and long-term unemployed decline as a portion of the overall unemployed population, and from this we could see an argument being made that this remains an “anyone who wants a job can get a job” kind of labor market recovery.

—Myles Udland, senior markets editor

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8:32 a.m. ET: May jobs report comes in better than expected

Job growth last month was better than expected in the U.S. economy.

Here are the latest numbers from the BLS’ May jobs report:

  • Non-farm payrolls: +390,000 vs. +318,000 expected

  • Unemployment rate: 3.6{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} vs. 3.5{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} expected

  • Average hourly earnings, month-over-month: +0.3{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} vs. +0.4{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} expected

  • Average hourly earnings, year-over-year: +5.2{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} vs. +5.2{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} expected

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7:12 a.m. ET: Stock futures stumble ahead of Labor Department’s monthly jobs report

Here’s where the major indexes were in early-hours trading Friday:

  • S&P 500 futures (ES=F): -22.25 (-0.53{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 4,153.00

  • Dow futures (YM=F): -114.00 (-0.34{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 33,109.00

  • Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): -118.75 (-0.92{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 12,775.00

  • Crude (CL=F): -$0.78 (-0.67{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $116.09

  • Gold (GC=F): -$2.00 (-0.11{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $1,869.40 per ounce

  • 10-year Treasury (^TNX): -1.8 bps to yield 2.9130{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}

A person enters the Wall Street subway station near the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York on May 27, 2022. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

A person enters the Wall Street subway station near the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York on May 27, 2022. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

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Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc

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Bank of Canada Renews 2{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} Inflation Target, Adds Jobs to Mandate

Bank of Canada Renews 2{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} Inflation Target, Adds Jobs to Mandate

(Bloomberg) — The Bank of Canada will maintain its 2{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} inflation target for the next five years, but has formally been given license to moderately overshoot it to “support maximum sustainable employment.”

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In a mandate renewal released jointly with the Canadian government on Monday, the government directed the central bank to use monetary policy to boost employment levels as long as those efforts don’t jeopardize the broader objective of stable prices.

The move effectively gives Governor Tiff Macklem more latitude to keep interest rates lower than what they would have been had the focus remained squarely on the inflation number — though the central bank and government argued the new mandate only formalizes what was already an implicit part of recent Bank of Canada policy. At a press conference in Ottawa, both Macklem and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said there was no real change in the framework that will guide rate decisions.

“This agreement provides continuity and clarity, and it strengthens our framework to manage the realities of the world we live in,” Macklem said in an opening statement before taking questions from reporters.

The Canadian dollar extended declines after the statement, trading down 0.7{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} from yesterday at C$1.2807 per U.S. dollar at 4:38 p.m. in Toronto. Yields on Canadian government two-year bonds fell 5 basis points to 0.919{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}.

Since the 1990s, the bank has been narrowly focused on a single objective: to keep prices stable. The goal has been to keep inflation within a range of 1{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} to 3{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} as much as possible. Operationally, that’s meant aiming for a 2{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} target over the Bank of Canada’s forecast horizon, a period of about two years.

The big change this time was to put more of an emphasize on the target range. The government added a new requirement whereby officials can use the 1{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} to 3{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} control range to “continue” supporting employment levels if warranted, but “only to an extent that is consistent with keeping medium-term inflation expectations well anchored to 2{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}.”

Some economists saw no real changes in the new mandate, while others expressed concern about the government unecessarily introducing uncertainty into the Bank of Canada’s mandate. The central bank already had scope to delay the return of inflation to target, according to Bank of Nova Scotia economist Derek Holt.

“Overall, it would have been better to leave the wording unchanged in this sensitized, populist environment marked by concerns about governments seeking to more directly interfere in the operations of central banks,” Holt said in a note to investors. “Central bank watchers already knew that labor conditions matter, but having governments lead a process to codify this is a bit insensitive toward market concerns.”

‘Broad Set of Tools’

While the central bank had studied the benefits of a major overhaul of the mandate, any arguments in favor of a big change were weakened as inflation accelerated in recent months. Canadian inflation has been above the upper limit of the central bank’s control range for seven months, and is currently hovering at a two-decade high 4.7{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}.

The statement provided some details into how the new flexibility would work. The central bank would use the control range “when conditions warrant” with officials promising more transparency in how they plan to use it. According to the statement, the bank will explain when it is using the flexibility and will report on how labor market outcomes have factored into decisions.

There’s also a reference to the central bank using a “broad set of tools” to address challenges of structurally low interest rates, including maintaining low borrowing costs for longer.

The document is much more extensive than the last one in 2016, with references to climate change, the pandemic, and the need for more inclusivity in the economy. There was a recognition the Bank of Canada is “well-equipped to address some of these challenges, less so for others.”

Another addition to the statement was a reference that the Canadian government sharing responsibility for achieving the inflation target and maximum sustainable employment.

The statement also acknowledged a low interest rate environment can fuel financial imbalances, with the government pledging to working with federal agencies to deal with the risks if needed.

(Updates with Macklem comment in fourth paragraph, economist comment in 9th paragraph.)

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