My Stock/Market Alert is an event driven brief about a stock OR the stock market when noteworthy action occurs. Today was one of those days for the financial markets. The stock and bond markets were jolted by JOLTS…
Expect the frequency of my Stock/Market Alert notes to be consistent with meaningful moves in a specific stock held by BAM Portfolios or the stock market.
Today’s JOLTS report jolted the financial markets. In a weak securities market, single stats released on the economy can knock the financial markets down. Today was one of those days. This morning, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) was released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report produces data on job openings, hires, and separations. According to the BOL, the number of job openings increased to 9.6 million on the last business day of August – well above the 8.815 million median estimate. The data shows a stable and strong jobs market. Good news for the economy, bad news for financial markets. This good news is bad news phenomena has been persistent since the Fed began raising interest rates in early 2022 to fight inflation.
The next potentially market-moving piece of economic news will be Friday’s jobs report. Economists expect nonfarm payrolls of 160,000, down from 187,000 in August. The Fed will be watching the report closely and does not want to see a number well above expectations. Stock investors will paying equally close attention to the chart below. The major stock market index (S&P 500) is approaching a key trend line and support level. The bold black line is the 40-week (200 day) moving average. Bull will be expecting a bounce off that line, while bears believe a break below will send the stock market down to its last October lows.
The market’s near term direction is pure speculation. So is what the Fed will do with interest rates in November. What we know is volatility has spiked, bond yields are soaring and it pays to be a diversified investor. Don’t jolted.
Call anytime you have questions. I am always happy to help.
Blackhawk Wealth Advisors is the parent corporation of Equity Research & Portfolio Evaluation and Blackhawk Asset Management. It’s Chief Investment Officer is John J. Gardner. John is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) and Certified Portfolio Manager (CPM®)
Blackhawk Wealth Advisors employs a collaborative, multi-generational model by using tax efficient and risk mitigation strategies to maintain your current lifestyle while meeting your long term needs and goals. BWA brings together all aspects of your financial life with the expertise of ERPE and BAM.
Blackhawk Asset Management
At BAM, we take the research we obtain from ERPE and utilize it to manage our clients’ assets. Our founder, John Gardner, CFP®, CPM®, offers high net worth investors experienced investment portfolio management based on a disciplined methodology. John is one of the nation's approximately 400 Certified Portfolio Managers and has managed billions of dollars in equity portfolios over his professional career since 1984. He has created four effective, proprietary portfolios: Thematic Growth, Strategic Income, Diversified Value, and Global Opportunity, which have helped clients prosper.
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Equity Research & Portfolio Evaluation
Equity Research & Portfolio Evaluation (ERPE) utilizes its propietary approach in analyzing investments. Its proven success researching equities is based on a blend of fundamental and technical analysis. ERPE's time-tested Top 10 Tenets guide the investment process to achieve Portfolio Optimization: This is through minimizing risk without sacrificing return.
