Wall Street’s Tough August Ends With Jobs in Sight: Markets Wrap
- Fed’s preferred inflation gauges rise modestly, spending jumps
- Traders expect soft employment and wage inflation: 22V survey
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Stocks churned at the end of a challenging month, with traders parsing mixed economic data and awaiting a key jobs reading to gauge the outlook for Federal Reserve policy. Bond yields fell. The dollar rose.
The S&P 500 finished with a small loss on Thursday, while notching its first monthly slide since February. Aside from consolidation after this year’s rally, traders cited concern that the Fed will keep interest rates higher for longer to prevent a flare-up in price pressures. Treasury 10-year yields extended their retreat after recently hitting levels last seen in 2007.