John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended September 6

Mixed jobs data

Ahead of a mid-September U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, the government reported on Friday that the economy added 142,000 jobs in August. While that figure was above the previous month’s gain, it was less than the consensus expectations for around 160,000. In addition, initial estimates for June and July were revised downward by a combined 86,000 jobs.

Volatility surge

As stocks fell, an index that tracks investors’ expectations of short-term U.S. market volatility jumped about 49% for the week. Although the Cboe Volatility Index rose on Friday to a closing level of around 22, that reading was still well below a recent peak of nearly 39 reached on August 5 during a surge in volatility that subsided after a few days.

Inside Q2 earnings

Utilities posted the strongest earnings growth at the sector level in the recently completed earnings season with a 21% increase relative to the previous year’s second quarter, according to FactSet. Across all S&P 500 sectors, earnings grew by an average of 11.3%—the strongest result since the fourth quarter of 2021.

Price check ahead

A Consumer Price Index report set to be released on Wednesday will provide one of the last data points for the U.S. Federal Reserve as it considers cutting its key interest rate by either 25 or 50 basis points at a meeting ending September 18. The most recent CPI report released in August showed an annual inflation rate of 2.9%, the first reading below 3.0% since early 2021.

Source: https://www.jhinvestments.com