- Stocks fell on Thursday as bond yields jumped ahead of the much-anticipated September jobs report on Friday.
- Early signs point to a cooling labor market, with jobless claims rising more than expected and layoff notices up 46% in September.
- Minneapolis Fed Chairman Neel Kashkari said central bankers are “very far” from bringing inflation down.
Stocks fell again on Thursday as bond yields jumped ahead of the Labor Department’s highly anticipated monthly jobs report on Friday.
Analysts expect the United States to have added about 250,000 jobs in September and unemployment to remain stable at 3.7%. The data will offer new signals on whether the Fed should hike rates higher or ease future hikes. Thursday’s data indicated a cooling in the labor market, with weekly jobless claims rising more than expected and layoff notices up 46% in September from August.
Despite the weaker indicators, Minneapolis Fed Chairman Neel Kashkari said central bankers are “very far” from bringing inflation down.
Here’s where the U.S. indices stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Thursday:
Here’s what else is happening today:
- The pound fell against the dollar after Fitch downgraded the UK’s credit outlook due to risks stemming from Prime Minister Liz Truss’ new mini-budget.
- Poles burn rubbish and Romania cap firewood prices as desperation for Europe’s energy supply intensifies ahead of winter.
- A coming recession won’t be as bad as it was in 2008 — as long as the Fed can avoid further policy mistakes, said economist Mohamed El-Erian.
- Wells Fargo dissected the positive 2% reversal in the S&P 500 on Wednesday and found that a single $31 million options trade could have been responsible for the sudden swing.
- Saudi Arabia lowered oil prices for Europe, but raised them for the United States. The move came after the White House accused OPEC+ of siding with Russia as the cartel cut its oil production quota by 2 million barrels per day.
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