Was the Jobs Report an “All Clear” on the Economy?
What’s in Today’s Report:
- Was the Strong Jobs Report an “All Clear” on the Economy?
- Weekly Market Preview: What Happens on December 15th?
- Weekly Economic Cheat Sheet: A Busy Week or Reports (They Start on Wednesday)
Futures are slightly lower as markets digest Friday’s big rally following a generally quiet weekend.
On U.S./China trade, there was no new news, although China released a statement saying it wanted to make a deal “as soon as possible.”
Economic data was again mixed, as Chinese exports missed estimates (1.3% vs. (E) 1.9%) while German exports beat expectations (1.2% vs. (E) -0.3%. But, neither number is moving markets.
Today there are no notable economic reports and no Fed speakers (they are in their blackout period ahead of Wednesday’s decision) so focus will again be on any updates on U.S./China trade.
The December 15th tariff increases are the last “big” event of 2019 and markets fully expect those to be delayed, so any confirmation of that should be a mild tailwind on stocks. Conversely, any hints the tariffs might go into effect will hit markets, potentially hard.
