The market will be laser-focused on the employment report Friday before the market opens. After another turbulent week of tweets, threats and tariffs, the markets are finally settling down to the business at hand.
Friday's nonfarm payrolls report for March could set the cadence for all capital markets for the next few weeks. The key takeaway for equity, fixed income and currency traders will be the state of the U.S. worker: Are wages finally starting to rise in consistently?
The market is looking for only a meager 0.2 percent gain in wages. If that's all we get, the risk-on rally in stocks and currencies could hit a snag as markets will continue to question whether the Federal Reserve has the data to pursue its normalization policy.
On the other hand, if wages rise by 0.4 percent, the news could boost equities and the dollar with a massive rally into the week's close.
Higher wages will suggest that U.S. recovery will have the fuel to continue into the second quarter, and investor sentiment should perk up markedly as growth and earnings will be revised higher.
Furthermore, real average hourly earnings rose both on a month-over-month and year-over-year basis in February, reflected in prior employment reports. If average hourly wages — which last came in at $22.40 — can climb by just one thin dime to $22.50, this would translate to 2.7 percent annual wage growth and place markets in an overall ebullient mood.
Jeff Saut, chief investment strategist at Capital Wealth Planning, says investors are not only cautious, but they are 'scared to death' of the bull market ending.
The first leg in the U.S. and China's long-awaited trade agreement provides a catalyst for stocks heading into next year, market professionals say.
As stocks cross into the next decade at records, one top investor sees a major market shift underway toward value and away from growth.
Oppenheimer's Ari Wald says financials stocks have some big tailwinds that could send the sector even higher.
Mona Mahajan, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones, Brian Levitt, global market strategist at Invesco, Ben Mandel, head of portfolio strategy at Itaú Asset Management, Mark Grant, chief global market strategist at B. Riley Securities, and Peter Andersen, chief investment officer at Andersen Capital Management, discuss their expectations for stocks in 2022.
Jim Bianco of Bianco Research highlights data showing used car prices are up more than 20% in the past four months while bitcoin is up about 5%, as of Dec. 23.
Jim Bianco of Bianco Research is worried about a bubble in the used car market.
Gina Sanchez of Chantico Global says a North Korean attack, should one occur, isn't likely to cause significant long-term market impact.
Boris Schlossberg of BK Asset Management says the ISM non-manufacturing report is key to watch ahead the jobs data released Friday.
Chad Morganlander of Washington Crossing Advisors is watching the dollar this week and expects it'll begin to strengthen heading into the second half of the year.
Trading Nation is a multimedia financial news program that shows investors and traders how to use the news of the day to their advantage. This is where experts from across the financial world – including macro strategists, technical analysts, stock-pickers, and traders who specialize in options, currencies, and fixed income – come together to find the best ways to capitalize on recent developments in the market. Trading Nation: Where headlines become opportunities.
Michael Santoli joined CNBC in October 2015 as a Senior Markets Commentator, based at the network's Global Headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Santoli brings his extensive markets expertise to CNBC's Business Day programming, with a regular appearance on CNBC's Closing Bell (M-F, 3PM-5PM ET). In addition, he contributes to CNBC and CNBC PRO, writing regular articles and creating original digital videos.
Previously, Santoli was a Senior Columnist at Yahoo Finance, where he wrote analysis and commentary on the stock market, corporate news and the economy. He also appeared on Yahoo Finance video programs, where he offered insights on the most important business stories of the day, and was a regular contributor to CNBC and other networks.
Follow Michael Santoli on Twitter @michaelsantoli
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