During last testimony Mr. Bernanke said Fed will closely
watch US data and accordingly take decision about reducing bond buying or quantitative
easing hence it’s very clear now and we are experiencing market attitude as it’s
clearly seems that good news is bad news for market on assumption that any good
news will push Fed to decrease easing program. All eyes are on Non-farm Payroll
which probably will make things more clear.
A strong jobs report could prompt an early end to the
Federal Reserve's policy of pumping money into the banking system to rescue the
economy and set off the stock market's long-awaited pullback.
The Fed's
loose monetary policy since the end of 2008 has kept interest rates low and
propelled stocks to record highs.
Last week,
stocks fell and bond yields surged after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the
U.S. central bank may decide to taper its stimulus programs in the next few
policy meetings if data shows the economy is gaining traction.
Stocks posted
their second straight week of losses on Friday, mostly on fears that the Fed
would curb its bond-buying program sooner than most people expected.
"We're in
a mindset where the market seems to be very fearful of the Fed beginning a
tapering," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial
in Newark, New Jersey.
"Those
who are in the market based on easy money ... will probably exit" if the May
jobs number exceeds expectations, she said.
The market has
managed to climb this year without any substantial pullback. Concerns about the
Fed's next move have increased speculation that a major bout of selling is
ahead.
A
stronger-than-expected jobs number "would continue to produce the concerns
you've seen manifested in the market over the last couple of days," said
Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in
Philadelphia, which manages about $58 billion in assets.
Economists say
job gains of at least 200,000 per month over several months are needed to
significantly reduce high unemployment.
The Fed has
said it will keep interest rates at historic lows until the U.S. unemployment
rate drops to 6.5 percent.
Employers are
expected to have added 168,000 jobs to their payrolls in May, according to
economists polled by Reuters. That's slightly above April's count of 165,000
new positions.
The U.S.
unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 7.5 percent in May.
To be sure,
better-than-expected jobs data would be evidence of strength in the economy, a
positive for the market in the long run, so any pullback could be short-lived,
analysts said.
"If it's
a short-term correction, I think that would have to be opportunistic, in the sense
that investors should take advantage of moving any sideline money into the
equity market," Luschini said.
Even with the
recent losses - the Standard & Poor's 500 index <.SPX> fell 1.1
percent this week - the index rose 14.34 percent for the first five months of
2013. That gain marked the S&P 500's best first five months of any year
since 1997.
A rotation out
of high-yielding dividend stocks has already begun because of the rise in U.S.
Treasury bond yields.
Dividend
stocks had been among the market's leaders for much of this year's rally as
investors favored those shares over fixed-income securities in a low
interest-rate environment.
"The
first crack we've seen is, as bond yields have been going up, people are moving
out of that area," said Eric Kuby, chief investment officer of North Star
Investment Management Corp., in Chicago.
"Managers
are starting to look at things other than consumer staples with nice dividends
and stable businesses. So within the stock market, you're seeing more
volatility within sectors."
The S&P
500 gained 2.1 percent for the month of May, while the S&P utilities sector
index <.SPLRCU> lost 9.6 percent and the S&P consumer staples index
<.SPLRCS> dropped 2.4 percent.
The spread
between the S&P 500 dividend yield and the 10-year U.S. Treasury note's
yield this week hit its narrowest in about a year. The S&P 500 dividend
yield was at 2.39 percent, while the 10-year note's yield hit 2.235 percent
during the week.
By comparison,
the dividend yield on the utilities sector stands at about 4 percent.
The move out
of dividend-paying and other defensive shares should continue as the economy
improves, Kuby said, though he pointed out that the market is still a
"long way" from seeing high interest rates.
"The fact
that rates are likely to creep up over time, that's a given. And it's not going
to be sudden or dramatic. It's going to be more gradual."
IT'S RAINING
NUMBERS
Next week will
bring a snapshot of U.S. manufacturing activity from the Institute for Supply
Management, which releases its May index on Monday. Economists polled by
Reuters expect a reading of 50.5 for May, compared with 50.7 in April.
Monday's
economic agenda also calls for April construction spending - forecast up 0.8
percent after a drop of 1.7 percent in March.
Domestic car
and truck sales for May, also expected on Monday, are projected to have
increased to 15.1 million units from April sales of about 14.9 million units,
the Reuters Poll showed.
The U.S.
international trade deficit, set for release on Tuesday, is forecast to have
widened slightly to $41 billion in April from $38.8 billion in March.
A preview of
the jobs picture will come on Wednesday with the release of a report from
payrolls processor ADP. Economists polled by Reuters have forecast that the ADP
data will show private-sector employers added 165,000 jobs in May, compared
with 119,000 in April.
Wednesday's
numbers to watch will include the ISM's release of its U.S. services-sector
Purchasing Managers' Index for May. A reading of 53.4 is forecast for May, up
from April's 53.1.
The Fed's
Beige Book is expected on Wednesday afternoon. That report will give a look at
the economy in 12 regional Federal Reserve bank districts.
On Thursday,
initial claims for unemployment benefits will grab attention - on the day
before the big payrolls report from the U.S. government. Initial jobless claims
are projected to have slipped to 345,000 in the week ended June 1 from 354,000
in the previous week.
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