Data Dump Ahead

By Nicholas Jasinski |  Monday, August 30 Data, Data, Data. Stock indexes bounced around on a relatively quiet late-summer Monday, ahead of a busy week of economic data. Jobs Friday will be the main event, but between now and then we'll also get August manufacturing and services purchasing managers' indexes and the latest consumer confidence surveys. Growth stocks generally led the market today, with internet and software firms rising and financials and energy stocks dragging on the S&P 500. The index closed up 0.4%, at a record high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.9%, to an all-time high. The economic data coming out this week will reflect conditions in August, when the Delta variant-fueled wave of coronavirus infections began to influence business and life in the U.S. in earnest. The extent of that impact will be the key item to look for in this week's data. A noticeably negative hit could kick the Federal Reserve's tapering plans down the road a bit. Coming up soon are another pair of fundamental shifts in the U.S. economy that will flow through to the employment data coming out about a month from now. Kids are going back to school, freeing up parents from the day-care responsibilities made particularly acute during the pandemic. And after Labor Day, a supplemental federal unemployment insurance payment of $300 a week goes away in the states that haven't already cut the benefit. Some 11 million people are still collecting those payments. "Economists and employers alike have for months predicted the end of the program would help usher millions back into the labor market and solve the labor shortage that is at the root of the everything-shortage," wrote Barron's Lisa Beilfuss recently. Expect plenty of focus on the weekly jobs data and company anecdotes on hiring in the coming weeks. But the implications of the expiring extra jobless pay go beyond that. They'll decrease U.S. household income by $4.2 billion a week. "That translates to an income decline of about $210 billion (annualized) for the month, or 1.2%, from August," Beilfuss wrote. The overall boost or hit to the U.S. economy will depend on the relative impact of those two forces: employment growth and lower personal income.  Read more from Lisa here.

 

DJIA: -0.16% to 35,399.84 S&P 500: +0.43% to 4,528.79 Nasdaq: +0.90% to 15,265.89 The Hot Stock: PayPal Holdings +3.6% The Biggest Loser: Capital One Financial -6.0% Best Sector: Real Estate +1.2% Worst Sector: Financials -1.4%