John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Ween Ended September 27th
Sound and fury
With one trading day left in the third quarter, the major U.S. stock indexes were little changed from where they had been three months earlier, despite a spike in volatility along the way. The S&P 500 was up 0.7% quarter to date as of Friday, the Dow was up 0.8%, and the NASDAQ was down 0.8%.
Sluggish inflation
The latest reading on U.S. inflation showed price gains continue to be small, despite potentially inflationary pressures from steadily rising wages. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge for measuring inflation rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.03% in August relative to the prior month—the smallest amount since January.
Even-keeled September
Although stock volatility climbed somewhat during the latest week, market movements have been modest in September relative to August’s bumpy ride. The S&P 500 on Friday recorded its 16th consecutive trading day without a move of 1% in either direction, the longest streak since July.
Jobs ahead
The week’s most closely watched economic report is likely to be Friday’s labor market release. The pace of job growth has recently slowed, with August’s gain of 130,000 leaving the year-to-date monthly jobs growth average at 158,000, down from 2018’s 223,000.
Source: https://wmr.jhinvestments.com/