Highlights
Stocks edged down Monday with weakness in technology shares dampening the major averages. The Dow Jones industrial average eased 0.1 percent, the S&P 500 lost 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq fell 0.6 percent. US Treasury yields, oil prices and the dollar all slipped.
Bond prices improved and yields declined as investors anticipate weakness in delayed US employment figures for October and November due Tuesday. Expectations for November payrolls center on an increase of 40,000 with an uptick in the unemployment rate to 4.5 percent from 4.4 percent expected.
Markets were intent on a report from CNBC that cast doubt on expectations President Trump will name his aide Kevin Hassett as Fed chair. The report said some advisors are warning that markets will react badly to Hassett as unlikely to act to contain inflation. Markets appear to be leaning more toward expecting Trump to choose former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh for the post.
Among AI trades, Oracle and Broadcom suffered losses along with Micron and AMD to depress the Nasdaq as many investors appear wary of high valuations in the sector.
Definition
Market Reflections track market reaction to the trading day's major events. Economic data, policymaker speeches, and company news are featured in this report as well as key indexes and financial instruments.
Description
Understanding why markets respond as they do is fundamental for an investor. Market Reflections help explain how the day's events, news, and data impact the outlook for the economy and for market prices.