On today's episode of Asking for a Trend, host Julie Hyman breaks down the biggest themes and stories from the trading day.
July's weaker-than-expected jobs report fueled fears that the Federal Reserve's focus on fighting inflation has come at the cost of the labor market's health. American Staffing Association chief economist and head of research Noah Yosif explains, "Markets clearly had a panic attack over July's jobs numbers. However, once they took a step back to look at the broader picture, they were able to course correct. July's numbers were certainly not great. However, in the bigger picture, the labor market is still considerably healthy." He notes that the unemployment rate, despite being high, remains at a "very healthy level." Worker productivity is also increasing as a result of higher borrowing costs and wages are accelerating faster than inflation.
Stocks (^DJI, ^IXIC, ^GSPC) closed mixed on Monday as Wall Street prepares for a week packed with economic data releases and corporate earnings reports, which could potentially trigger even more market volatility. Yahoo Finance markets and data editor Jared Blikre analyzes the day's top market trends including the cooling of risk momentum in the market, a loss of liquidity due to increased volatility, and an update on the Japanese yen carry trade.
Finally, Yahoo Finance reporter Josh Schafer analyzes the current state of tech giants' valuations as the Magnificent Seven stocks have been under investor scrutiny. Recent trading weeks have seen their valuations decline, prompting investors to question whether these stocks are becoming attractive investment opportunities once again.
This post was written by Melanie Riehl