Briefing.com uses cookies to store information on your computer that is essential to making the site work and to customizing the user experience. By using the site, you consent to the placement of these cookies. Read our cookie policy to learn more and how to withdraw your consent.     
You must subscribe to access archives older
than one year.
Take a free trial of Briefing In Play® now.
Subscribe Here
TERMS OF USE

The Briefing.com RSS (really simple syndication) service is a method by which we offer story headline feeds in XML format to readers of the Briefing.com web site who use RSS aggregators. By using Briefing.com’s RSS service you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree to the terms and conditions contained in these Terms of Use, we do not consent to provide you with an RSS feed and you should not make use of Briefing.com’s RSS service. The use of the RSS service is also subject to the terms and conditions of the Briefing.com Reader Agreement which governs the use of Briefing.com's entire web site (www.briefing.com) including all information services. These Terms of Use and the Briefing.com Reader Agreement may be changed by Briefing.com at any time without notice.

Use of RSS Feeds:
The Briefing.com RSS service is provided free of charge for use by individuals, as long as the feeds are used for such individual’s personal, non-commercial use. Any other uses, including without limitation the incorporation of advertising into or the placement of advertising associated with or targeted towards the RSS Content, are strictly prohibited. You are required to use the RSS feeds as provided by Briefing.com and you may not edit or modify the text, content or links supplied by Briefing.com. To acquire more extensive licensing rights to Briefing.com content please review this page.

Link to Content Pages:
The RSS service may be used only with those platforms from which a functional link is made available that, when accessed, takes the viewer directly to the display of the full article on the Briefing.com web site. You may not display the RSS content in a manner that does not permit successful linking to, redirection to or delivery of the applicable Briefing.com web site page. You may not insert any intermediate page, “splash” page or any other content between the RSS link and the applicable Briefing.com web site page.

Ownership/Attribution:
Briefing.com retains all ownership and other rights in the RSS content, and any and all Briefing.com logos and trademarks used in connection with the RSS service. You are required to provide appropriate attribution to the Briefing.com web site in connection with your use of the RSS feeds. If you provide this attribution using a graphic we require you to use the Briefing.com web site logo that we have incorporated into the Briefing.com RSS feed.

Right to Discontinue Feeds:
Briefing.com reserves the right to discontinue providing any or all of the RSS feeds at any time and to require you to cease displaying, distributing or otherwise using any or all of the RSS feeds for any reason including, without limitation, your violation of any provision of these Terms of Use or the terms and conditions of the Briefing.com Reader Agreement. Briefing.com assumes no liability for any of your activities in connection with the RSS feeds or for your use of the RSS feeds in connection with your web site.

Briefing.com
Subscribers Log In
 
  • HOME
  • OUR VIEW
    • Page One
    • The Big Picture
  • ANALYSIS
    • Premium Analysis
    • Story Stocks
  • MARKETS
    • Stock Market Update
    • Bond Market Update
    • Market Internals
    • After Hours Report
    • Weekly Wrap
  • CALENDARS
    • Upgrades/Downgrades
    • Economic
    • Stock Splits
    • IPO
    • Earnings
    • Conference Calls
    • Earnings Guidance
  • EMAILS
    • Edit My Profile
  • LEARNING CENTER
    • About Briefing.com
    • Ask An Analyst
    • Analysis
    • General Concepts
    • Strategies
    • Resources
    • Video
  • COMMUNITY
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Google+
  • SEARCH
Login | Archive | EmailEmail |
HOME > Our View >Page One >Cooling Off (As Expected)
Page One Archive
Last Update: 06-Sep-18 09:00 ET
Cooling Off (As Expected)

The information technology sector had a rough outing on Wednesday, yet that was somewhat to be expected. The sector was short-term overbought, and with Facebook (FB) and Twitter (TWTR) execs testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee, there was a perfect excuse to take some money off the table.

Throw in some reported trade concerns, and, well, the selling activity was pretty much preordained.

The end result is that the S&P 500 information technology sector declined 1.5%, leaving it up "only" 17.8% for the year.

The weakness in the heavily-weighted information technology sector acted as a drag on the broader market, yet it didn't truly drag down everything else in its path. The S&P 500 declined just 0.3% as a rotation into the countercyclical sectors offset the weakness in the information technology sector to a large extent.

Separately, the S&P 500 industrials sector outperformed, increasing 0.6% in a move that made it clear that "trade concerns" were overplayed as a catalyst for yesterday's setback.

Nothing has been settled this morning on the trade front either, and yet the broader market is indicated to open on a flattish note. In other words, the trade uncertainty remains a hot topic of conversation, but it isn't necessarily fueling any selling fire in the stock market at this time.

The S&P futures are up three points and are trading roughly in-line with fair value. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 futures are up eight points and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 41 points.

There is a bit of a wait-and-see mentality in the mix as NAFTA negotiations between the U.S. and Canada persist and the public comment period on a proposed tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports expires at midnight.

There is a nagging sense that the Trump Administration will implement the tariff when that public comment period expires.  China has already said it will retaliate against any such tariffs if they are imposed, so the mystery lies in how the market will react if this tariff tit-for-tat ratchets up as many think it is likely to do.

There are residual concerns, too, about the weakness in emerging markets that seem to be cooling off the stock market for the time being.

There hasn't been any corporate news of note to stir things up nor has this morning's economic data altered the course of things in any meaningful way.

The revised reading for second quarter (Q2) productivity was unchanged at 2.9%, as expected, which was the strongest increase since the first quarter of 2015. The uptick in Q2 productivity was the result of output increasing 5.0% and hours worked increasing 2.0%.

Q2 unit labor costs decreased 1.0% (Briefing.com consensus -0.9%), versus a previously reported 0.9% decrease, reflecting a 1.9% increase in hourly compensation and a 2.9% increase in productivity.

The key takeaway from the revised report is the same as the advance estimate:  labor costs look to be in check, which will facilitate a gradual tightening path for the Federal Reserve.

The initial claims report, meanwhile, just keeps getting better.  It showed a 10,000 drop in initial claims for the week ending September 1 to 203,000 (Briefing.com consensus 214,000), which is the lowest level of initial claims since December 6, 1969.

Continuing claims for the week ending August 25 decreased by 3,000 to 1.707 million.  That left the four-week moving average at 1,718,500, which is the lowest level since December 8, 1973.

On a related note, the ADP Employment Change Report for August estimates 163,000 jobs were added to private-sector payrolls in August.  That was shy of the Briefing.com consensus estimate of 186,000 and could temper job-growth expectations just a bit ahead of tomorrow's nonfarm payrolls report for August, which is expected to show 187,000 jobs added to nonfarm payrolls in August.

The Factory Orders Report for July (Briefing.com consensus -0.6%; Prior +0.7%) and the ISM Non-Manufacturing Index for August (Briefing.com consensus 56.5; Prior 55.7) will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

--Patrick J. O'Hare, Briefing.com

The information technology sector had a rough outing on Wednesday, yet that was somewhat to be expected. The sector was short-term overbought, and
 
Add this to my Page Alerts.
MARKET PLACE
SPONSORED LINKS
 
  Follow Us On Linkedin  
 
 
LOGIN

CONTACT US
Support
Sitemap
PREMIUM SERVICES
Take a Tour
Compare Services
Request a Demo
INSTITUTIONAL SALES
ADVERTISING

CONTENT LICENSING

EMAILS & NEWSLETTERS
ABOUT US
Our Experts
Management Team

COMMUNITY
MEDIA
Events
News
Awards
PRIVACY STATEMENT
Cookie Policy
Reader Agreement
Policies
Disclaimer
Copyright © Briefing.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
Close
You must log in or register to access this area.
Tip of the Day
Virtual Url Page Popup