NOTABLE MOVES
As of Sat, Mar 9, Singapore Time zone UTC+8
USDJPY, -0.38%, $111.17
EURUSD, +0.41%%, $1.1240
GBPUSD, -0.52%, $1.3017
USDCAD, -0.30%, $1.3415
AUDUSD, +0.44%, $0.7047
NZDUSD, +0.74%, $0.6804
S&P500, -0.21%, 2,743.07
Nasdaq, -0.16%, 7,015.69
Nikkei Futures, -2.01%, 20.025.56
CURRENCY MARKET WRAP
- The February Employment Situation Report muddied what had been a pretty clear labor market picture. Nonfarm payrolls increased by only 20,000 in February, well below expectations (consensus 173,000) and far off recent readings running above 200,000. Average hourly earnings, meanwhile, increased 0.4% (consensus 0.3%), which left the year-over-year wage figure up 3.4%. That’s good news, as it is a positive underpinning for consumer spending. NEC Director Larry Kudlow, among many others, believed the payroll figure was an outlier. The key takeaway from the report is that the weak payrolls figure will drive thoughts of either there being a shortage of skilled labor that could drive up wages or that it is a sign of a softening job market.
- U.S. Treasuries edged higher, pushing yields lower. The 2-yr yield declined two basis points to 2.44%, and the 10-yr yield declined one basis point to 2.63%. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.3% to 97.36. WTI crude lost 0.8% to $56.14/bbl.
STOCK MARKET WRAP
- The S&P 500 declined as much as 1.0% on Friday, as disappointing growth in U.S. jobs contributed to global growth concerns and profit-taking interest. However, renewed buying interest in the afternoon helped the benchmark index trim its loss to 0.21% and close at session highs.
- The S&P 500 energy (-2.0%) and consumer discretionary (-0.7%) sectors underperformed the broader market. Conversely, the utilities (+0.4%), materials (+0.2%), real estate (+0.1%), and consumer staples (+0.1%) sectors outperformed. It had been a broad-based retreat for most of the day with all 11 S&P 500 sectors trading lower following a mixed February Employment Situation Report. At the same time, weak trade data out of China, where February exports declined 20.7% year-over-year, and some pessimism about the prospects for a U.S.-China trade deal helped contribute to early-morning weakness.
- In earnings news, Costco (COST 227.82, +11.03, +5.1%) and Big Lots (BIG 36.18, +4.34, +13.6%) sported notable gains after both beat earnings estimates. National Beverage (FIZZ 58.27, -10.00), meanwhile, dropped 14.7% after it missed top and bottom-line estimates.