• September 5, 2024

U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Slightly Lower Than Expected

According to BlockBeats, for the week ending August 31, the United States reported 227,000 initial jobless claims, slightly below the expected 230,000. The previous week's figure was revised from 231,000 to 232,000.For the week ending August 24, continuing jobless claims were reported at 1.838 million, also below the anticipated 1.865 million. The prior week's number was adjusted from 1.868 million to 1.86 million.

  • September 5, 2024

ADP Employment Data Impacts Financial Markets

According to BlockBeats, on September 5, the release of the ADP employment data had significant effects on various financial markets. Following the announcement, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) experienced a brief decline of 10 points, currently standing at 101.03. Concurrently, the USD/JPY exchange rate saw a sharp drop of nearly 50 points, now reported at 143.13.In the bond market, the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.747% after the employment data was made public. Similarly, the yield on the U.S. 2-year Treasury note decreased to 3.733%, marking its lowest level since May 2023. Additionally, spot gold prices saw a short-term increase of $4, now trading at $2516.78 per ounce.

  • September 5, 2024

It's 'premature' to think soft landing is secured: Strategist

Investors are moving to defensive corners of the market (^DJI, ^IXIC, ^GSPC) on Thursday as fresh data sparked some concerns of too much weakness in the labor market. SoFi head of investment strategy Liz Young Thomas joins Morning Brief to discuss the market's reaction to the data and how investors can best position their portfolios as the Federal Reserve begins its rate-easing cycle. Thomas notes that "equities are still cheering for the beginning of this rate-cutting cycle" as the Fed eyes a soft landing. She explains that easing rates will likely benefit cyclical areas of the market, like small caps (^RUT), financials (XLF), real estate (XLRE), and industrials (XLI). However, she warns that "it would be premature to assume that we have secured a soft landing." Investors should still have some exposure to areas of the market that benefit from a steepening yield curve. Thomas points to gold (GC=F) as a good option as the global currency is experiencing volatility. As all eyes are on Friday's August jobs report, Thomas believes that if the data comes in cooler than expected, the market will react negatively and will likely experience a sell-off of mega-cap names. She adds that utilities are "not just a purely defensive play" at this stage, as they are a beneficiary of the AI trade. In addition, she explains that consumer staples (XLP) — another traditional defensive play — are overbought currently. If economic data continues to cool during the Fed's cutting cycle, she expects financials and real estate to continue to slow. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • September 5, 2024

Howard Marks Predicts U.S. Interest Rates to Stabilize Between 3% And 4%

According to Odaily, Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital has forecasted that following the Federal Reserve's rate cuts, U.S. interest rates will stabilize between 3% and 4%. Marks, who is the co-chairman and co-founder of Oaktree Capital, made this statement during a conference in Melbourne on Thursday. He indicated that the Federal Reserve would lower the rates from the current emergency levels of 5.25% to 5.5% down to around 3%. Marks emphasized his belief that the rates would remain at approximately 3%, and would not revert to zero, 0.5%, or 1%.