The Economy Lost Jobs, Wall Street Threw a Party: What Moved Markets This Week
The American economy shed 23,000 nonfarm payrolls in July. Wall Street answered with its best week since April. That is not a contradiction. It turns on the fact that has defined 2026 and that many investors still find uncomfortable: the Federal Reserve’s next move was supposed to be up. A shrinking payroll count took it off the table. The reversal lifted almost everything with a pulse. The Labor Market Did The Fed’s Work For It The U.S. forecast for July jobs was a gain of roughly 80,000. But government hiring whiffed. Payrolls dropped by 53,000. Private employers still added 30,000 jobs, short of the 78,000 expected. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1% from 4.2%. That was not strength. The labor force shrank by 264,000 and the participation rate — the share of working-age adults either employed or looking for work — slid to 61.4%, the lowest since early 2021. The h...
The American economy shed 23,000 nonfarm payrolls in July. Wall Street answered with its best week since April. That is not a contradiction. It turns on the fact that has defined 2026 and that many investors still find uncomfortable: the Federal Reserve’s next move was supposed to be up.
A shrinking payroll count took it off the table. The reversal lifted almost everything with a pulse. S. forecast for July jobs was a gain of roughly 80,000.
But government hiring whiffed. Payrolls dropped by 53,000. Private employers still added 30,000 jobs, short of the 78,000 expected. 2%.
That was not strength. 4%, the lowest since early 2021. The heavier blow came in the revisions. May and June were cut by a combined 103,000, leaving the three-month trend materially weaker than the market believed a day earlier.
2% on the year, the slowest wage pace since 2021. Why A Bad Report Bought A Strong Close A contracting payroll count removes the case for tightening into a slowing economy. Odds of a September increase fell to 42% from 58% on Friday, according to CME FedWatch tool. Lower expected policy rates pulled Treasury yields and the dollar down together, and that combination is the most reliable fuel there is for two assets: long-duration technology stocks and gold.
Both delivered. 5% for the week, notching its best weekly surge since mid-April. 8% for the week, marking its best weekly showing since early May. 5% and its strongest week in seven months.
This Week’s Best And Worst S&P 500 Stocks Coherent Corp. 5% in five sessions. S. restrictions on Chinese optical transceivers and a JPMorgan price target increase to $435 from $380.
It reports next Wednesday. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: PLTR ) delivered the quarter of the week. S.
15 billion. ” Shares rose about 29% Tuesday, close to the best session in the company’s history. Zebra Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: ZBRA ) was the quieter shock.
70. The other side of the ledger was about weak guidance. The Trade Desk Inc. 1 million and third-quarter guidance of at least $650 million landed far below the $805 million expected.
Management replaced its chief financial officer, chief marketing officer and commercial chief in the same release. Honeywell Aerospace Inc. (NASDAQ: HONA ), spun off in June, cut full-year organic sales growth guidance to 4%-5% from 7%-9% in its first report as a standalone company. DaVita Inc.
(NYSE: DVA ) beat on both lines and fell 17% because it reaffirmed rather than raised an outlook whose midpoint already sat below consensus. m. ET on Aug. 12.
6%. Another benign print could further trim bets on the September increase. A hot one puts it straight back, and the assets that led this week — gold, small caps, long-duration technology — are the ones with the most to give back. Applied Materials Inc.
(NASDAQ: AMAT ), one of 2026’s best-performing semiconductor stocks, reports Thursday after the close. A weak labor market bought Wall Street a party. The July CPI report decides whether it gets to keep it. Read Also: S&P 500 Hits Record As Jobs Shock Sinks Rate-Hike Bets: Stock Market Today Image: Shutterstock