Daily Market Commentary

It was another choppy flat to modestly lower day for stocks as the market prepares itself for the final jobs report before Election Day. We got a mix bag of economic data yesterday - a stronger than expected ISM Manufacturing report but a weaker than expected jobless claims report. Yields and the dollar were up on that strong ISM data, and that put a little extra pressure on the small caps, the I-fund, and the F-fund.

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It was a slow day for stocks yesterday as the market tries to process the recent geological events, the potential major supply chain roadblock, and incoming economic data. Stocks opened lower and they did battle back, but most of the major indices closed near the flat line as we await Friday's jobs report. Bonds were down as yields and the dollar rallied.

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Stocks opened lower on Tuesday after a couple headlines that probably weren't surprising, but we were hoping they could be avoided. That was of course the longshoreman strike, and the Iranian missile strike on Israel. The indices closed off their early lows but stiff suffered some stiff losses with small caps and tech stocks lagging. Bonds were up as yields moved lower.

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Stocks overcame a midday sell off while Jerome Powell was speaking yesterday, to close strong and at the highs of the day as the third quarter came to an end. Powell reiterated their outlook on interest rates, but briefly hinted that they may not go another 0.50% at the next meeting, sending stocks down temporarily before the end of quarter window dressing kicked in during the final half hour of trading.

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Another mostly benign inflation report in Friday's PCE Prices data set up a positive open on Friday morning. As the day wore on however, the bulls slowly slipped away while the bears chipped away at those early gains. The Dow still finished the day with a solid three-digit gain, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq could not stay positive. Bonds (F-fund) were up sharply as yields fell on the data.

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