The major US indices are bleeding the gains away with the Dow industrial average and the S&P index now in negative territory. The ISM manufacturing index came in weaker than expected at 48.7 versus 49.5. Moreover the employment index remain below the 50 level comfortably at 46.0 (was 45.3 last month). Meanwhile, the Fed officials are getting antsy about cutting rates. The latest is Fed’s Goolsbee saying:
- I am uneasy with frontloading rate cuts
- Inflation data is still worrisome
- I’m not decided for what happens at next Fed meeting
- Threshold for cutting higher than at last two Fed meetings
- Has been more worried about inflation over jobs market
It was not too long ago that the employment was the bigger concern. So the pendulum is swinging toward inflation. Is it that there is no data on employment? The supply and demand argument remains a point of discussion as immigration has subtracted the supply of workers. At the same time, things like AI are slowing the demand for workers.
Looking at the major indices, the
- Dow industrial average is now down -407 points or 0.86%. At session highs, the index is up 134.46 points
- The S&P is down -16 points or -0.23%. At session highs, the index was up 42.12 points
- NASDAQ index is up 52 points or 0.22%. At session highs the index is up 251.8 points
This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.