Wells Fargo Anticipates More Layoffs, JOLTS job openings

Stocks started the morning off down but climbed following weaker than expected Jolts data. The S&P 500 is mostly unchanged and the Nasdaq is up by 0.3 5%. Bond yields fell, with the two-year falling to 4.5 9% and the ten-year to 4.1 9%. Crude oil climbed this morning, rising by nearly 1% to $73.73 a barrel. Jolts job openings for the month of October came in much lower than expected, falling by 617,000 jobs as the labor market continues to show signs of cooling. The ISM services index, also reported today, showed a slight improvement at 52.7. In other economic news, Moody’s has cut China’s credit outlook to negative, amid surging debt levels. Local governments in China have rapidly increased their debt as economic slowdowns plague the country. BlackRock warned of higher long-term interest rates in 2024 today, seeing significant risks in markets. The global asset management giant sees the current market optimism as going too far, with rate cuts priced in as early as March of 2024. Treasury yields have fallen significantly in past weeks, with the ten-year yield falling more than three quarters of a percent from its October high as investors bet on lower interest rates. Wells Fargo’s CEO warned of a larger than expected severance expense in the fourth quarter, as the company foresees more layoffs in the near future in order to maintain profitability.