The S&P 500 (SP500) on Friday plunged 4.25% for the holiday-shortened week to end at 5,408.42 points, posting losses in all four sessions. Its accompanying SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) slumped 4.14% for the week.
There was no sugarcoating it – it was a simply brutal week for Wall Street. The benchmark index posted its worst weekly performance since early March 2023. Its fellow major average, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND), fared even worse, sliding to its worst week since January 2022.
Both gauges have notched their worst starts to September (first four trading days) since 2001, according to Bespoke Investment Group.
The selloff was driven by concerns over economic growth after a slew of soft data during the week, especially on the labor market. That, coupled with historical September weakness, led to investors pulling out of growth sectors such as Technology and flocking to the safety of assets such as bonds.
The S&P 500 Information Technology sector cratered more than 7% for the week. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury yields fell as traders snapped up bonds. The 10-year yield (US10Y) retreated 20 basis points for the week, while the 2-year yield (US10Y) was down 27 basis points.
On Tuesday, weak manufacturing data greeted investors returning from the long Labor Day weekend. That was enough to dent the positive sentiment that had permeated markets at the end of August. Wall Street’s three major indexes ended up posting their worst day since “Black Monday 2024.”
Then on Wednesday, government data showed the number of job openings in July fell to a three-and-a-half year low. That was followed by a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas on Thursday that showed job cuts in August nearly tripled from July. Both sets of indicators soured the mood heading into the pivotal nonfarm payrolls report on Friday.
That data finally arrived, showing softer-than-expected jobs growth in August and significant downward revisions to the figures for June and July. The report fanned more growth worries, and also sparked a debate among experts as to what should be the size of the expected Federal Reserve interest rate cut later this month. The attention now turns to next week’s consumer price index report for further clues, though inflation has taken a backseat in terms of concerns.
“There are some jobs reports over the years that are acutely followed by markets and others that are more of an afterthought. (Friday’s) was the former, and the market reaction casts no doubt on the employment data’s importance,” Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s (BLK) global fixed income chief investment officer, said on X (formerly Twitter).
“We can see the market’s focus shifting from inflation to labor market data in the term-premia being priced around important data releases. It is clear that the labor market data has now overtaken inflation as the most important focus for both markets and the Federal Reserve.”
“While the recent labor market data is clearly softer, it is very far from a disastrous indicator of recession, hard-landing, or some pernicious foreshadowing of future consumer weakness.”
“Rather, we continue to believe the job market is moderating from robust post-COVID demand. In fact, almost none of the recent increase in unemployment has been permanent job losers; rather, it was driven by temporary (weather-related) layoffs in August, which reversed this month, and a steady stream of new entrants,” Rieder said.
Turning to the weekly performance of the S&P 500 (SP500) sectors, nine of the 11 ended in the red. Technology topped the losers with its 7.1% plunge. Consumer Staples and Real Estate were the two gainers. See below a breakdown of the performance of the sectors as well as their accompanying SPDR Select Sector ETFs from August 30 close to September 6 close:
#1: Consumer Staples +0.56%, and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLP) +0.58%.
#2: Real Estate +0.15%, and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLRE) +0.18%.
#3: Utilities -0.50%, and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLU) -0.50%.
#4: Health Care -2.13%, and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLV) -2.07%.
#5: Consumer Discretionary -2.86%, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) -2.52%.
#6: Financials -3.20%, and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLF) -3.17%.
#7: Industrials -4.35%, and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLI) -4.24%.
#8: Materials -4.84%, and the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLB) -4.66%.
#9: Communication Services -5.05%, and the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLC) -4.07%.
#10: Energy -5.63%, and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLE) -5.77%.
#11: Information Technology -7.06%, and the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLK) -7.45%.
For investors looking to track the benchmark S&P 500 (SP500), here are some exchange-traded funds of interest: (VOO), (IVV), (RSP), (SSO), (UPRO), (SH), (SDS), and (SPXU).
For investors looking into the future of what’s happening, take a look at the Seeking Alpha Catalyst Watch to see next week’s breakdown of actionable events that stand out.
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