Stocks Closed Lower On Friday And For The Week, Making It 3 Weeks In A Row

Plus 5 New Strong Buys for Today Stocks Closed Lower On Friday And For The Week, Making It 3 Weeks In A Row [Kevin Matras - EVP - Photo] Profit from the Pros By Kevin Matras Executive Vice President Stocks Closed Lower On Friday And For The Week, Making It 3 Weeks In A Row [Stocks Closed Lower On Friday And For The Week, Making It 3 Weeks In A Row]Image: Bigstock Stocks closed lower on Friday and for the week, making it three down weeks in a row. Stocks started out strong, gaining more than 1% across the board before erasing those gains (and then some), in the afternoon. Friday's Employment Situation report for August showed another month of robust job gains with 315,000 new jobs (308K in the private sector and 7K in the public), vs. the consensus for 293,000 (280K private and 13K public). The unemployment rate ticked up from 3.5% to 3.7%. But so did the participation rate, going from 62.1% to 62.4%. Average hourly earnings were up 0.3% m/m, which was just shy of views for 0.4%. On a y/y basis, it was up 5.2%, same as last month, but just under estimates for 5.3%. As usual, there were adjustments made to the previous two months of reports. July was revised lower by -2,000 jobs to 526K from 528K. And June was revised lower by -105,000 to 293K from 398K. But, all in all, it was a solid report. And total nonfarm employment is now 240K jobs higher than its pre-pandemic level in February 2020. The industries with the biggest job gains last month came from the following: Professional and Business Services added 68,000 new jobs; Health Care gained 48,000; Retail Trade picked up 44,000; jobs in Financial Activities rose by 17,000; Wholesale Trade increased by 15,000; and Mining was up 6,000. In other news, Motor Vehicle Sales came in at 13.2 million units (annualized) vs. last month's 13.3M and views for 13.6M. And Factory Orders slipped -1.0% m/m vs. last month's downwardly revised 1.8% and the consensus for 0.2%. The market also tried to digest reports that the G7 agreed to cap the price of Russian oil. The details have yet to be worked out. And it won't go into effect until December 5th (which also happens to be the same day that a European Union ban on Russian oil begins). The Group of Seven consists of the U.S., the U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. A Russian spokesperson, in response to the news, said "companies that impose a price cap will not be among the recipients of Russian oil." In spite of all of the sanctions imposed on Russia to inflict economic pain on their oil revenue, Russia is actually making more money on oil sales now than before they invaded Ukraine. It will be interesting to see how this cap works and if it has the intended consequences. But oil trades on a global market. So I wouldn't get too optimistic over the effectiveness of this announcement at the moment. But I will wait for the details. Crude oil was up 64 cents or 0.74% on Friday at $87.25. Today we'll get another look at the economy with the ISM Services Index, and another look at inflation with the Consumer Price Index. At the moment, stocks are still up from their June lows. But the last 3 weeks cut those gains by more than half. The Dow is up 4.65% from their lows, the S&P is up 7.02%, and the Nasdaq is up 9.25%. But that also means the indexes are down from their all-time highs with the Dow down -14.9%, the S&P down -18.2%, and the Nasdaq down by -27.6%. Stocks will once again try and consolidate recent price action and try and stage a rally. We will see if that succeeds this week. See you tomorrow, [Kevin Matras - Signature] Kevin Matras Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research [10 Great Stocks to Buy for Under $10 in 2022]( The market has been beaten up hard. The S&P 500 is down more than 20% year-to-date. There are some screaming deals just waiting for investors to pick-up in the market. Stocks are on sale. Companies that used to trade at 20 to 30 times earnings are now trading at less than 15 times earnings. We've identified some of the best value stocks (all with a share price of $10 or less) in today's market and have put them in a special report for your immediate review. [Click Here to View These 10 Stocks]( Most Popular Articles from Zacks.com [3 Stocks Displaying Remarkable Relative Strength in 2022]( In addition to favorable price action, all three companies carry a strong Zacks Rank paired with enticing dividend payouts. [Read More »]( [5 Defensive Picks to Stay Safe in Volatile September]( At this juncture, it will be prudent to stay invested in defensive stocks from utilities as these are less volatile in a downtrend. [Read More »]( [The Fed Sends Home Sales Down, But Still a Strong Housing Market]( Despite the fact that mortgage rates have gone from 3.5% to 5.8% this year, the incremental reduction in mortgage applications has not accelerated. [Read More »]( [Exploring the Energy Sector's Ongoing Earnings Boom]( The sector's expected earnings haul in 2022, as well as current estimates for the next two years, represent all-time records for the space. [Read More »]( [Higher Yields to Fuel Rally in These ETFs]( Investors should tap this opportune moment of rising rates with these ETFs that look to benefit from higher yields. [Read More »]( [Today, See Zacks' Top Stocks for Free]( Starting now, you can get instant access to the latest picks from our hottest market-beating strategies. In 2021 they gained +40.3%, +48.2%, +67.6%, +94.4%, and +95.3%. Zacks will also give you a free Special Report, Top 10 Stock Screening Strategies that Make Money which spells out the formulas behind these top strategies. [See Stocks Free »]( [Bull of the Day: Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM)]( Premier sub-10 nanometer "fab" for Apple and NVIDIA chips is growing sales 37% and EPS 53%. [Read More »]( [New Zacks Strong Buys for September 6th]( Here are 5 stocks added to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) List today. [Read More »]( More Zacks Resources Mobile App Download our app for convenient on-the-go access to even more—daily and weekly newsletters published by Zacks experts, proprietary research and tools, and Portfolio Tracker on Zacks.com. [Download our Zacks App for Apple iOS]( [Download our Zacks App for Android]( Zacks Members' Success Stories Visit [Success Stories]( to hear how Zacks research, tools and portfolios help our members outperform the market. Get all of our market insights and much more when you connect with us. [Visit Zacks on Facebook]( [Follow Zacks on Twitter]( [See Zacks videos on YouTube]( [Join Zacks on LinkedIn]( [Read Zacks Commentary on StockTwits]( This free resource is being sent by [Zacks.com](. We look for investment resources and inform you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms of Service". [www.zacks.com/terms_of_service]( Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. The Zacks #1 Rank Performance covers the period beginning on January 1, 1988 through July 4, 2022. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank #1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit [( for information about the performance numbers displayed above. Zacks Emails If you would prefer to not receive future profit-producing emails from [Zacks.com]( the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service, then please [click here]( and confirm your request. If you have trouble with the unsubscribe link, please email support@zacks.com. Zacks Investment Research 10 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 1600 Chicago, IL 60606