The S&P 500 Loses Steam in Short Week of Trading

The S&P 500 (Index: SPX) closed at a record high of 4,536.25 on Thursday, 2 September 2021. The index has since lost steam and has fallen in each of the five trading days since. As stock prices have only dropped 1.7% from its recently recorded high, that still puts it within the latest redzone forecast range.

At this point, we think investors are still focusing on 2022-Q1 in setting current day stock prices, where the dip in stock prices is most likely attributable to typical levels of noise in the market. The best example of that involves the news story of an adverse court ruling affecting the biggest company in the S&P 500, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), which we’ve captured in this week’s roundup of market moving news headlines.

Tuesday, 7 September 2021

• Signs and portents for the U.S. economy:

• Oil slides 2% on worries about weak demand

• Oil losses from Hurricane Ida rank among worst in 16 years

Bigger trouble developing in Japan, better news in China and Eurozone:

• Japan’s tepid July household spending adds to economic recovery doubts
• China’s economy gets welcome boost from surprisingly strong Aug exports
• Euro zone growth revised up as consumer spending rebounds sharply

Big Tech fuels Nasdaq record, S&P 500 dips

• S&P 500, world equity index retreat as economic worries weigh

Wednesday, 8 September 2021

• Signs and portents for the U.S. economy:

• U.S. bank profits drop as industry slows reductions in credit loss provisions – FDIC
• U.S. job openings jump to record high as employers scramble for workers
• Three-quarters of U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil output remains shut
• U.S. economy “downshifted slightly” in August -Fed’s Beige Book

Fed minions want to slow stimulus bond buys:

• Fed should pursue plan to trim pandemic stimulus, Bullard says – FT
• NY Fed’s Williams says it may be appropriate to start tapering asset purchases this year

BOJ minion says will keep up stimulus efforts, but former minion wonders when lack of success will change policy:

• BOJ’s Kuroda says yields will stay low even under more expansive fiscal policy – Nikkei
• As rates hug zero, former BOJ chief Shirakawa casts doubt on mainstream policy

ECB minions expect more loans to go bad and to be forced to hike rates because of inflation:

• Euro zone banks face further rise in soured loans -ECB
• Inflation could prompt ECB to tighten policy quicker, Holzmann says

• Column: The ECB’s ‘phantom taper’?

Wall Street ends lower, weighed down by Big Tech

Thursday, 9 September 2021

• Signs and portents for the U.S. economy:

• U.S. labor market recovery on track as weekly jobless claims near 18-month low
• U.S. offshore oil production losses felt around the globe

Fed minions setting expectations for tapering stimulus bond buys:

• Fed officials say bond taper could still start this year
• Fed’s Bostic expects central bank to pull back on asset buying this year – WSJ
• Fed’s Evans: ‘not out of the woods yet’
• Fed’s Bowman encouraged still by recovery, taper likely this year

Bigger trouble developing in Japan, China:

• COVID-19 impact could hit Japanese automakers’ output in Oct
• Unleashing reforms, Xi returns to China’s socialist roots
• China’s factory inflation hits 13-year high as materials costs soar

ECB minions say they’ll start tapering stimulus bond buys, BOC minions say they’re thinking about it:

• ECB takes token step towards dialling down pandemic-era stimulus
• Bank of Canada signals it may stop adding stimulus to economy soon

Wall Street ends down after jobless claims hit 18-month low

Friday, 10 September 2021

• Signs and portents for the U.S. economy:

• Oil rallies to $73 on tight U.S. supplies, Biden-Xi call
• Supply bottlenecks keep heat on U.S. producer prices
• U.S. wholesale inventories rise; inventories-to-sales ratio lowest in seven years

Fed minion wants Fed minions to be more transparent:

• Fed officials should clarify how they assess goals, Mester says

Bigger trouble developing in Asia:

• Exclusive-BOJ likely to warn of hit from Asia bottlenecks on exports, output – sources

Wall Street ends down, Apple sinks on app store ruling

• Wall Street shares down as inflation worry offsets U.S.-China optimism

Here’s a news source that can keep you posted on when various economic data will be released: the National Bureau of Economic Research’s New Economic Indicates and Releases RSS news feed. The downside of the feed is that it doesn’t link to those items after they come out, but at least you’ll know when you need to look for them!