Stock Market Update

The S&P 500 futures are down 17 points and are trading 0.3% below fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are down 25 points and are trading 0.1% below fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 172 points and are trading 0.3% below fair value.

February nonfarm payroll growth was an okay 151,000, average hourly earnings growth was an okay 0.3%, the unemployment rate was an okay 4.1%, and the average workweek was a not-so-okay 34.1 hours. The labor force participation rate dropped and so did the employment-to-population ratio. The U-6 unemployment rate, which accounts for unemployed and underemployed workers, increased to 8.0% from 7.5%. That isn't okay.

The key takeaway from the report is that it was no better than just okay. It won't be enough to silence the growth concerns that have echoed in recent weeks through other data releases.