The major indices are all trading in the red, with the Nasdaq leading the way lower, down 1.07%.  For today, the lovefest with FAANG is over.  Apple, which has been on fire, is giving back a little of those gains, down 2.25%.  Facebook (FB) is the only one in positive territory, up after President Trump signed executive orders on social media apps TikTok and WeChat.  Facebook did launch its competitor, Its Reels platform this week.  

Despite being down, 8 out of the 11 S&P 500 sectors are in the green, with the safe haven Utilities and Real Estate leading the way higher. Technology is the drag.

Breadth is negative and decliners are outpacing advancers on the NYSE. 

Jobs

The U.S. added 1.76 million jobs in July, which beat consensus, but was down from the record set in June of 4.8 million.  The pickup in Covid-19 and the roll back of opening some economies were a factor.  Still it, was way, way better than expected.  Average hourly earnings were up to $29.39 from June’s $29.32; however, average weekly hours were down slightly to 34.5 from 34.6.

Jobs in Leisure and Hospitality made up one-third of the gains adding 592,000 jobs.  Government jobs rose by 301,000 thousand.  Typically public-sector education is down in July, however the job losses happened earlier this year due to Covid-19. Thus, July saw big gains of 215,000 in local government education and added 30,000 in local government education. The government also added 27,000 job, which included the temporary hiring of 2020 Census workers.

Credit Shrinking

Consumer credit shrunk by $18.2 billion in May, lower than the expectation of a decline of $15.5 billion.  April was revised lower to -$70.2 from -$68.7 billion.  May was the third consecutive month of declines in consumer credit.  A decrease in revolving credit was a key driver, as more lenders tightening lending amid the pandemic and rise in unemployment.

• Non-revolving credit +$6.0 billion to $3.117 trillion M/M
• Revolving credit - $24.3 billion to $995.6 billion M/M
• Annual rate of consumer credit - 5.25%
• Annual rate of revolving credit -28.5%
• Annual rate of non-revolving credit rose 2.25%

There is still no economic relief deal out of Washington.  Let's hope our leaders can sort this out, sooner rather than later.  

Have a great weekend.  Be well and stay safe.