Stocks Up as Path to September Fed Cut Gets Wider: Markets Wrap

  • US payroll growth slows and jobless rate ticks up to 4.1%
  • Swaps fully pricing in two interest-rate reductions in 2024

WATCH: Standard Chartered’s Daniel Lam says investors are positioning for a “more likely Trump victory,” which means dollar-yen will trend higher.

Source: Bloomberg

The stock market ended the week at all-time highs, with traders looking past signals of a slowdown in the world’s largest economy to focus on prospects for Federal Reserve rate cuts.

In a post-holiday session marked by thin volume, the S&P 500 notched its 34th record this year. Equities rebounded, following a series of twists and turns in the immediate aftermath of data showing US hiring moderated as the jobless rate hit the highest since 2021. Treasury yields tumbled. Swaps fully projected two Fed reductions in 2024 starting in November — and Wall Street bets have been building around a September rate cut.