Just like last week, the S&P 500 again had four daily moves of over one percent, closing Friday at 3639. Monday was the first day of the fourth quarter and the bull showed up with one of those over one percent moves. On Tuesday the S&P 500 continued upward, up over one percent for two in a row. And just as we were thinking that maybe the markets had made their bottom, Luci came in and pulled the football away from Charlie Brown as he was getting ready to kick it. On Thursday we reversed course as the bear returned with over a one percent loss. Before Fridays market open, the September employment report came in slightly lower than expected with 263K jobs filled but still impressive. Additionally, the unemployment rate decreased to 3.5% from 3.7% and worker pay rose 5% on a year-over-year basis. However, this data is also indicative of a strong economy, doing little to cool inflation fears, and it appears the Fed will raise rates again when they meet at the beginning of November. All told, the S&P 500 had a second bearish day on Friday with another over one percent loss. Looking forward to next week, we have Thursdays Consumer Price Index (CPI)/inflation number and maybe a retest of 3585, the 2022 S&P 500 low. Lastly, it should be noted that even though Monday is a federal holiday, the stock market will be open. For TSP TIPS, well stay the course with our current allocation.
Just like last week, the S&P 500 again had four daily moves of over one percent, closing Friday at 3639. Monday was the first day of the fourth quarter and the bull showed up with one of those over one percent moves. On Tuesday the S&P 500 continued upward, up over one percent for two in a row. And just as we were thinking that maybe the markets had made their bottom, Luci came in and pulled the football away from Charlie Brown as he was getting ready to kick it. On Thursday we reversed course as the bear returned with over a one percent loss. Before Fridays market open, the September employment report came in slightly lower than expected with 263K jobs filled but still impressive. Additionally, the unemployment rate decreased to 3.5% from 3.7% and worker pay rose 5% on a year-over-year basis. However, this data is also indicative of a strong economy, doing little to cool inflation fears, and it appears the Fed will raise rates again when they meet at the beginning of November. All told, the S&P 500 had a second bearish day on Friday with another over one percent loss. Looking forward to next week, we have Thursdays Consumer Price Index (CPI)/inflation number and maybe a retest of 3585, the 2022 S&P 500 low. Lastly, it should be noted that even though Monday is a federal holiday, the stock market will be open. For TSP TIPS, well stay the course with our current allocation.