US Stock Market Overview – Stock Whipsaw as Trump Calls for an End to Stimulus Negotiations

US Stocks whipsawed and moved lower following a comment from President Trump where he told the House and the Senate to forget about a stimulus bill, and that they would take it up after he won the election. He said that they should focus instead on getting his Supreme Court nominee passed through the senate. Ahead of the comments from Trump the Dow Industrial Average was up more than 100-points and after the comments, the index was down 300 points. President Trump said he would attend the debate next week, despite continuing to shed the virus. Most sectors in the S&P 500 index were lower, led down by energy shares. Utilities bucked the Trend. Fed Chair Powell said that there is a need for additional stimulus for the US economy to continue to rebound. The US trade deficit rose in August to the highest levels in 14-years. The August Jobs Openings and Labor Turnover were unchanged.

Fed Chair Power Calls for More Fiscal Stimulus

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that there was a further need for fiscal stimulus.  He noted that there was progress made in job creation, goods consumption and business formation, among other areas, but it was the wrong time for policymakers to take their foot off the gas.

The US Trade Deficit Rose More than Expected

The U.S. trade deficit rose in August to the highest level in 14 years. According to the Commerce Department, the gap between the goods and services the United States sells and what it buys abroad climbed 5.9% in August to $67.1 billion. The deficit in the trade of goods with China fell 6.7% to $26.4 billion. In 2020, the United States has recorded a trade gap of $421.8 billion, up 5.7% from January-August 2019. Exports rose 2.2% to $171.9 billion, but imports rose more up 3.2% to $239 billion.

Jobs Openings and Labor Turnover for August Were Unchanged

The number of jobs that are open for hire in the US was nearly unchanged at 6.5 million on the last business day of August, according to the  Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hires were little changed at 5.9 million in August. Total separations decreased to 4.6 million. Within separations, the quits rate was little changed at 2.0% while the layoffs decreased to a series low of 1.0 percent.