Dow jumped 299, advancers over decliners 5-2 but NAZ gave back 3. The MLP index went up 2+ to the 138s & the REIT index fell 3+ to 360. Junk bond funds were mixed & Treasuries saw heaving selling taking the yield on the 10 year Treasury up 5 basis points to 0.647%. Oil climbed in the 42s & gold plunged a huge 78 to 1961.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
| CL=F | Crude Oil | 42.40 | | +0.46 | +1.1% |
| GC=F | Gold | 1,959.40 | -80.30 | -3.9% |
Job openings rose 518K to 5.9M in Jun, according to the Labor Dept. That's above the median forecast of 5.3M jobs. The increases follows a gain of 375K in May. The number of jobs available was running around 7M before the pandemic. The number of layoffs & firings rose 522L to 4.8M in Jun. Hiring eased to 6.7M from a record 7.2M in May. The JOLTS data lag behind the monthly employment report by a month. The largest gains in openings came from accommodation & food service, other service & arts. The biggest declines were in construction & state & local gov education. The share of people who left jobs on their own, known as the quits race, rose to 1.9% from 1.8% in May. That's down from a peak of 3.2% less than a year ago. Few people are willing to quit a job during a recession. With job openings 16% below their pre-pandemic level in Jun, there were still 3 unemployed workers for every job opening. This shows the labor market has a long way to go to get back to the pre-pandemic strength. There are still 13M workers who lost jobs in Mar & Apr who remain unemployed. Job growth slowed to 1.8M in Jul from 4.8M in Jun & the unemployment rate fell to 10.2%.
U.S. job openings slowly climbing out of deep hole
German economic expectations have risen strongly in Aug after having declined slightly in Jul, the ZEW economic research institute said. The measure of economic expectations went up to 71.5 in Aug from 59.3 in Jul. The outcome is above the forecast of 54.5 points. On the other hand, the assessment of the current economic situation in Germany has slightly worsened, falling to minus 81.3 points in Aug from minus 80.9 points in Jul, the ZEW institute said. This reading is worse than the forecast of minus 67.5 points. "Hopes for a speedy economic recovery have continued to grow, but the assessment of the situation is improving only slowly," said Achim Wambach, pres of the ZEW institute.
German economic expectations rise: ZEW survey
China's auto market grew for a 4th straight month, driven by strong stimulus from the gov & a robust recovery in demand for commercial vehicles. Sales in China rose 16.4% in Jul compared with a year earlier to 2.11M vehicles, the gov-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said. Since May, the world's largest auto market has been recording year-over-year sales growth in the low double-digit percentages, as Beijing eases restrictions & offers favorable policies & subsidies in a bid to revive the economy & boost spending. CAAM maintained its forecast for a decline of 10% to 20% in sales this year, but warned China's exports & supply chain could suffer if a another wave of coronavirus was to hit in fall & winter. Nissan said last week that its sales in China increased by 11.6% in Jul compared with a year earlier. SAIC Motor, China's biggest car manufacturer by sales, said last week that its domestic Jul sales rose 4% from a year earlier. CAAM tracks the vehicle wholesale market & warned that car dealers should pay attention to inventories, which swelled 11.6% last month. Retail demand was weaker in Jul, industry groups suggested, as consumers piled into the rising stock market & delayed auto purchases in hopes of more stimulus & subsidies coming from central & local govs.
China car sales rise for fourth straight month
Investors have returned in force, felling good about buying stocks. However, deteriorating US-China relations are causing tech stocks to be sold which is showing up in the weak NAZ performance. Profit taking has also hit gold very hard today.
Dow Jones Industrials
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