Market indices enjoyed another trading session finishing in the green today, turning a holiday-shortened week into something of a success story — so far. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each are sporting four-day winning streaks, while the Dow is up three of the past four days. The Dow gained +346 points, +1.12%, while the Nasdaq grew +259, +2.28%. The S&P split the difference, +1.49%, while the small-cap Russell 2000 beat the field, +2.43%.
Notice, however, the use of the term “so far”: we have a big monthly jobs report out tomorrow morning from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and results therein may be received by market participants with a complex set of reactions: while over the past few years, higher jobs numbers with higher wage growth was always met with applause, because we’re looking for metrics displaying a work-down of inflation, wage growth acceleration would likely be an unwelcome metric.
As it is, job growth is expected to slow to around a quarter-million new jobs filled per month, down from the half-million-plus we’d been seeing since the Great Reopening followed our Covid shutdown period. As we saw in yesterday’s JOLTS report, we still have north of 11 million job openings in the U.S., meaning it remains a job-seeker’s market. As such, wage growth is likely a key factor in filling many of the jobs that will show up in tomorrow’s data.
Still, a four-day winning streak — matching the longest we’ve seen in 2022 so far — is nothing to sneeze at, with Utilities the only one of 11 sectors of the S&P today to finish the session in the red. Clearly, the market feels good about having priced-in much of the bad news that may be on the horizon. Further, if that recession we’ve been worried about is what our economy has been enduring over the first half of this year — and blue skies are ahead of us — then maybe we’re already through the worst of it.
Again, though: “maybe.” This year providing what it has for us so far, we’d be foolish not to be wary of what 2022 may yet have in store for us. For now, however, it’s “Summertime — and the livin’ is easy…”
Levi Strauss & Co.
LEVI
reported fiscal Q2 earnings after the closing bell today, with positive surprises on both earnings and revenues in the quarter. A bottom line of 29 cents per share beat the Zacks consensus by 6 cents, while revenues of $1.47 billion in the quarter surpassed the $1.44 billion analysts were looking for. Thus far, LEVI has not missed an earnings expectation since its IPO back in 2019.
Even better, the iconic apparel company reiterated full-year (ending November this year) guidance, which is something of a victory in an earnings environment when analysts are looking for companies to guide down expectations for the remainder of the year. LEVI shares briefly touched +5% in late trading before ebbing a bit, though still a good way toward building back from the -35% performance so far this year.
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