Friends

It was a good day for stocks as market participants found comfort in the fact that the bond market stopped selling off for a couple of days now. Hopes that the Fed might be inclined to hold interest rates steady was today’s narrative. Unfortunately, oil prices remain high and problematic. I know the Vice President asked that the Fed lower interest rates today, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Perhaps, a disastrous jobs number tomorrow will change that view.

As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 624 points to finish the day at 53,686. The S&P 500 was up 81 points to close at 7,747. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 366 points to close at 26,584. Gold was up $110 to trade at $4,524 per ounce, while oil was up $.60 to trade at $91.61 per barrel WTI.

As mentioned, we get a look at government jobs data tomorrow. Analysts’ expectation for non-farm payroll is that 45,000 new jobs were created in August. The bond market is likely to have a significant move off this number so we’ll be watching closely.

Have a nice evening everyone.

Jim