Week in review: a jobs shock gave the Fed room to breathe
Good morning. It's Sunday, so let's look back at the week. The highlight was Friday's September jobs report: just 29,000 new jobs, far fewer than expected, with unemployment up to 4.2%. July and August were also revised down by about 60,000 combined.
That gave the Fed a breather. On top of Wednesday's softer inflation reading, the weak hiring all but erased market bets on an October rate hike. The embers haven't gone out, though. A key manufacturing price gauge jumped nearly 10% in a month, and some warn that a single bad inflation print could bring hikes back.
The stock market was a tale of two halves. The Nasdaq hit a record on Friday, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.27% on the week. Look inside the index and a handful of big tech names are doing the heavy lifting; more than three-quarters of stocks are in a correction from their highs. The headline records and what most investors feel are quite different things. Meanwhile, Treasury yields stayed near multi-decade highs.
On oil, the G7 agreed to release crude and diesel stockpiles, sending prices down more than 4%. The war-related supply problems aren't solved, though, and on Saturday a large fire was reported near an Aramco facility in Riyadh.
briefing.watch
FOMC minutes on Wednesday
A peek at the thinking behind September's hike
Iran talks and the Aramco fire follow-up
Could steer oil in the coming week
Start of Q3 earnings season
Will the AI-led rally keep its footing?