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Indecisiveness and losses ahead of US jobs report

The weak September so far is continuing to live up to its reputation as a bad month for equity markets. Investors are torn between concerns about the economy and hopes of an imminent interest rate cut, and yesterday's economic data failed to provide any guidance. At the end of the week, the much-anticipated US employment data for August will be released today, which should provide more guidance, particularly regarding the Fed's monetary policy stance.

Date
Auteur
Dominique Stutz, LGT
Temps de lecture
5 minutes

Investor
© Shutterstock

Yesterday's economic data from the US provided little guidance for investors. Sentiment in the services sector unexpectedly improved and initial jobless claims fell sharply. In contrast, fewer jobs were created in August than at any time since the beginning of 2021 and the ADP employment growth survey was much weaker than expected. This makes today's US labor market report for August (14:30 CET) all the more important for the assessment of the economic situation and US monetary policy.

New York indices reacted indecisively to the data, with the benchmark Dow Jones index closing 0.5% lower at 40,755.75. The broad market S&P 500 lost 0.3% to close at 5503.41. The Nasdaq 100 technology index gained 0.1% to 18,930.33 after changing direction several times. If today's jobs data does indeed confirm a slowdown in the US economy, the Fed could answer with a significant interest rate cut on 18 September. This would be particularly good news for technology stocks, with investors buying Alphabet, Apple, Meta, Nvidia, Amazon and Tesla in yesterday's trading session.

In the Asia-Pacific region, stock markets fell on Friday on the back of weak Japanese household spending data and ahead of today's key US employment report. Japanese household spending rose 0.1% in real terms year-on-year in July, well below expectations for a 1.2% increase. This was a reversal from the 1.4% decline in June. The weak spending report may limit the Bank of Japan's ability to raise interest rates, although yesterday's strong wage growth figures may offset this.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.4% and in South Korea the Kospi traded 0.9% lower, while in Australia the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.4%. The Shanghai Composite was down 0.2%. In Hong Kong, markets remain closed today after the Hong Kong Observatory issued a typhoon warning for Super Typhoon Yagi.

In Europe, the gloomy market sentiment continued. The EuroStoxx 50 lost 0.7% and fell below the 200-day average, which indicates the long-term trend, to 4815.15 points. In Switzerland, too, the seasonal negative trend continued. The Swiss Market Index (SMI) closed 1.2% lower at 12,031.34 points, its low for the day and the third consecutive day in the red.

Corporate and macroeconomic calendars

Corporate news in focus: There is no important corporate news today.

Economic data in focus:  Trade balance and industrial production Germany, industrial production France, GDP Eurozone, and US labor market report.

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Publisher: LGT Bank (Switzerland) Ltd., Glärnischstrasse 36, CH-8027 Zurich
Editor: Alessandro Fezzi
Source: LGT Bank (Switzerland) Ltd.

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