Stocks continued to take it on the chin Monday, as recessionary fears (fueled by the threat of tariffs on imported goods) increased their grip on investors. The selloff continued across the globe, with most markets in Asia losing ground in overnight trading, and equities in Europe were showing small losses this morning. However, U.S. stock futures had reversed course and were indicating a positive start at today’s opening bell.
Moving to the economic calendar for this week, this morning the Bureau of Labor Statistics was due to release its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS. The consensus on Wall Street was calling for a small increase in January to 7.71 million positions, versus the 7.6 million tally for the month before.
Things pick up a bit tomorrow in economic news, when the Bureau reports on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for February. Analysts are looking for the month-to-month figure to show a slight improvement, with prices rising an estimated 0.3%, compared to the 0.5% advance recorded for January. On a 12-month basis, expectations are that the index will show an increase of 2.9%, a tick lower than the 3.0% from the month before. Meanwhile, the ‘core’ figures, which take out the relatively volatile food and energy components, are anticipated to be fairly similar, with a month-over-month gain of 0.3% (down from 0.4% in January), with the 12-month increase expected to clock in at 3.2% (down from 3.3%).
Thursday brings the companion Producer Price Index (PPI), which tracks changes in wholesale prices. The Street is predicting that the report will show a 0.3% month-to-month uptick for February, down from 0.4% in January. The core figure is expected to remain flat at 0.3%. We’ll also get the Department of Labor’s latest report on initial jobless claims. Forecasts are suggesting an increase to 225,000, compared to 221,000 the week before.
Summing up Monday’s price moves for the major indexes, the Dow Jones Industrials lost 890 points, or 2.1%, the S&P 500 slid 155 points (2.7%), and the tech-focused NASDAQ took the hardest hit, plunging 727 points for a 4% drop. – Mario Ferro
At the time of this article’s writing, the author did not have positions in any of the companies mentioned.
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