In “Cavuto: Coast to Coast,” former St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President and CEO James Bullard discusses whether central banks should worry about how markets will react to their decisions.
U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as new jobless claims figures eased investor fears of an imminent economic downturn, providing some cheer to a turbulent week for financial markets.
The Nasdaq Composite Index, which recently entered a correction, rose nearly 3%, buoyed by shares of Nvidia, Intel and Palantir. The tech-heavy index remains below its all-time high of 18,647, reached in July.
| Ticker | safety | last | change | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:Comp | Nasdaq Composite Index | 16635.888589 | +440.08 | +2.72% |
| NVDA | NVIDIA Inc. | 104.33 | +5.42 | +5.48% |
| International Trade Commission | Intel Corporation | 20.19 | +1.20 | +6.30% |
| P.L.T.R. | Palantir Technologies, Inc. | 29.00 | +2.68 | +10.18% |
The S&P 500, the broadest stock market index, is on track to hit its highest level since February, with technology, consumer discretionary and capital goods leading the gains, while more defensive consumer staples and utilities posted the smallest gains.
| Ticker | safety | last | change | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5314.85 | +115.35 | +2.22% |
| XLY | Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF | 173.76 | +3.77 | +2.22% |
| Article 41 | Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF | 124.09 | +2.58 | +2.13% |
| Chapter 45 | Healthcare Select Sector SPDR ETF | 149.04 | +3.01 | +2.06% |
| Luxembourg | Utility Select Sector SPDR ETF | 73.78 | +0.49 | +0.68% |
And the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which fell dramatically by 1,033 points on Monday, rebounded, rising more than 600 points in the hour before the close.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Among the Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks, Intel, Salesforce and Caterpillar all rose, while Disney and Walgreens were the smallest gainers.
JPMorgan Raises Chances of Recession
| Ticker | safety | last | change | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer Relationship Management | Salesforce Japan | 248.57 | +8.52 | +3.55% |
| Cat | Caterpillar Inc. | 334.94 | +9.35 | +2.87% |
| AmGN | Amgen Inc. | 322.08 | +9.58 | +3.07% |
| Dis | The Walt Disney Company | 86.20 | +0.26 | +0.30% |
| WBA | Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. | 10.81 | +0.03 | +0.32% |
Breaking down the latest unemployment claims data
Investors took some relief that the labor market is stabilizing after the number of Americans filing jobless claims declined week on week, down from a one-year high. An unexpected spike in jobless claims a week ago, combined with a weak July jobs report (payrolls rose by just 114,000 and the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%), raised concerns that a recession could be looming fast.
It also triggered the so-called “thumb rule,” an accurate predictor of a recession when the three-month moving average of the unemployment rate falls 0.5 percentage points below its 12-month low.
Sahm, chief economist at New Century Advisors, warned Fox Business that investors should look at more data before taking any premature actions.
“A recession is a broad-based contraction in economic activity, so I think we need to see more signs of that. I don’t think policymakers like the Federal Reserve need to see more signs to take action. In terms of whether we can truly say we’re in a recession, we’re not there yet. And frankly, if the labor market data continues to worsen, that’s a very bad sign,” she said Wednesday during an appearance on “Making Money” with Charles Payne.
All employment data will be scrutinized between now and the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, with more than 50% of market participants expecting policymakers to enact a significant rate cut, perhaps by 50 basis points. CME’s FedWatch ToolTrack the probability of interest rate changes.
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As stock prices recovered, bond yields rose, with the 10-year Treasury back up to 4%.
Cryptocurrencies also rose, with Bitcoin approaching $60,000 after falling as low as $50,000 amid this week’s volatility.
