US employment growth is looking resilient after all. Companies added 217,000 jobs in July, the Labor Department reports. Although that’s down from June’s 259,000 gain, it’s clear that the economy is still minting new positions at a healthy pace. As a result, the surprisingly dark profile in May, when private sector employment contracted by 1,000, looks like noise.
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The US stock market has reached new highs recently and closed yesterday (Aug. 4) only slightly below a record. In fact, the S&P 500 has been closing at or just below a record high for weeks as the index wiggles within a tight range. From a technical perspective, the latest run of strength look bullish. But what should we make of Mr. Market’s reluctance to do much of anything since the S&P has recovered from a series of sharp selloffs? Is this merely a consolidating phase that leads to even greater heights? Or is the crowd starting to wonder if the rally off the recent lows in February was mostly a speculative binge without fundamental support?
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