Stock Market Update

The S&P 500 futures are up five points and are trading 0.1% above fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are down 18 points and are trading 0.1% below fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 33 points and are trading 0.1% above fair value.

The August nonfarm payrolls headlines were a bit deflating, coming in below expectations and accompanied by downward revisions to July and June that helped drive the 3-month average to a soft 116,000 from 141,000. On the other hand, there was still growth in nonfarm payrolls, the unemployment rate dipped to 4.2% (from 4.3%), and average hourly earnings increased a stronger than expected 0.4% month-over-month, which should be helpful for spending.

The key takeaway from the report is that it was not as good as hoped, but it also wasn't as bad as feared. It was a report, however, that meshes with the understanding that there is a slowdown in hiring activity that should translate into a slowdown for the economy.

The 2s10s spread emerged from inversion. The 10-yr yield is at 3.73% and the 2-yr yield is at 3.70%.