Like it or not, a lower unemployment rate is bad for the stock market. The reason, a decrease in the rate is an indication that the Federal Reserve has not yet cooled off the economy. As a result, there will be more interest rate hikes, which adds momentum to the anti-TINA trade (There Is No Alternative).
Somehow the index shrugged off another Q3 guidance cut by a major company, Advanced Micro Devices: (NASDAQ: AMD) after the close on Thursday and was flat heading into jobs numbers. Once the drop in the rate from 3.7% to 3.5% hit the wires, it was all offers and very few bids.
Just as the index leapt through the 3600 and 3700 handles, and actually made it into the 3800 handle. But the index easily sliced its way back down heading into the close.
For the session, the index swooned 103.50 handles to close at 3653.25. That trimmed the gain for the week, which was 218.75 handles at Wednesday’s high (3820), to only 51.75.
The biggest winner of the top components was the smallest loser, which was Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM). For the session, the issue declined by $0.97 or 1% to close at $101.09.
That was nearly 2% better than the cash index’s decline of 2.8%
Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) was the biggest loser of the top components. The issue was punished after Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) slashed Q3 guidance. For the session, the issue declined by $10.54 or 8% to close at $120.76.
