Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on October 3, 2024 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
This report is from today’s international market newsletter CNBC Daily Open. The CNBC Daily Open provides investors with everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Is it what you see? You can subscribe here.
What you need to know today
sluggish market
US markets were weak on Thursday. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell, but the Nasdaq Composite was almost flat. The European Stoxx 600 index fell by 0.93%, with only the oil and gas sector gaining. Auto stocks fell 2.17% on reports that the European Union could pass tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles on Friday.
Port strike ends
Strikes at U.S. Eastern and Gulf ports ended Thursday after the International Longshoremen’s Association and the American Maritime Union “reached a tentative agreement on wages,” the parties announced in a joint statement. The agreement extends the current contract until January 15, giving time for further negotiations on other issues.
Oil prices soar due to possibility of Israeli retaliation
Oil prices in West Texas Intermediate and Brent futures soared more than 5% on Thursday on fears that Israel would retaliate for Iranian missile attacks. “We’re talking about it,” US President Joe Biden said when asked if the US would support an Israeli attack on Iranian oil facilities.
AI is still hot
Generative artificial intelligence remains a market favorite. After closing a funding round that valued OpenAI at $157 billion, the company now has a $4 billion revolving credit line, CNBC reported. Also, Nvidia’s next-generation AI chip, Blackwell, is in high demand. “Everyone wants to have the most, and everyone wants to be the best,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC.
(PRO) How to play a job report
The September US jobs report, released later today, will indicate whether the economy can achieve a soft landing or head into recession. JPMorgan analysts are looking at how the S&P 500 will react to the number of jobs added in September.
conclusion
Last month, stocks managed to defy gravity and soar without letting the historic weight of September’s slump drag them down.
But October tends to be a volatile month, with gravity starting to catch up with stocks.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 0.17%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.44%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was mostly flat, bucking the broader downward trend thanks to a 3% rise in Nvidia.
These numbers don’t seem too bad, but we’re preparing for a week where all major indexes are down. The S&P and Dow are currently down about 0.7%, and the Nasdaq is in the red by 1.1%.
Adding to yesterday’s woes, the number of new jobless claims last week rose to 225,000 from an upwardly revised 219,000 the previous week. It also exceeded the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 220,000 sales.
The September jobs report, due later today, will provide a clearer picture of the overall state of the U.S. labor market and could be the market’s most important catalyst amid geopolitical turmoil and rising oil prices. Highly sexual.
The good news is that at this point in the rate cut cycle, good news is no longer bad news. If the number of jobs added is higher than expected, the market is likely to react favorably.
Because with unemployment rates creeping up, if jobs are plentiful in September, the economy will avoid recession, rather than inflation remaining high as statistics showed a year ago. Because it will show that.
David Kelley, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, said even if the number was lower than expected, he would urge the Federal Reserve to cut rates by another 50 basis points. He said it could bring benefits to the market.
Ultimately, whether the data is hot or cold, “I don’t think people need to panic too much about these numbers either way,” Kelly said.
Job postings are announced within about 12 hours, so it’s too late for second guessing anyway.
– CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Alex Harring and Pia Singh contributed to this article.
