Tuesday's Close

E-mini S&P 500 (September): Settled at 4520.50, down 4.75

E-mini Nasdaq-100 (September): Settled at 15,582.50, down 15.00

We start this new month in accustomed fashion; stocks at record highs and the Federal Reserve easing at its peak pandemic pace. Last week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell bubble wrapped an impending taper announcement with an ultra-dovish view on rates and an overall path that hinges on jobs. He said, “the economy has made clear progress towards the bank’s goal of full employment,” adding that there are strong prospects for continued gains. 

Jobs are front and center through the rest of the week. Today, ADP Payrolls came due at 7:15 a.m. CT. Although there’s been a clear deviation from this read and the official Nonfarm data, markets will certainly be paying attention. ADP reported 374,000 new payrolls added in August, missing expectations by nearly 40%. The expected number for Friday’s official Nonfarm is 750,000.

Last night, a private read on Chinese Manufacturing PMI showed a contraction at 49.2. This comes a day after the public read avoided contraction at 50.1 but came in at the slowest pace since last February. Manufacturing PMI from the Eurozone continued to show a strong expansion at 61.4, but was a touch below the 61.5 expected and the slowest since this February.

From the U.S., the closely watched ISM Manufacturing PMI is due at 9:00 a.m. CT and expected at 58.6, the slowest since November. The second look at the IHS Manufacturing PMI read was released just before at 8:45 a.m. CT. We then look to the EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report at 9:30 a.m. CT amid OPEC+ developments via their official meeting. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, a 2020 voter who has become a bit more hawkish, speaks at 11:00 a.m. CT.

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