This Weekly Financial Markets Update reviews the top market headlines: Tepid August Jobs Report, Business Activity Diverges Again in August, and Oil Prices See Large Weekly Drop
  • The U.S. added an average of 116,000 jobs monthly from June through August
  • The ISM Manufacturing index registered 47.2% in August
  • The price of West Texas Intermediate Crude oil fell 8% on the week

Top Three Market Headlines

Tepid August Jobs Report: The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reported last week that the U.S. economy added 142,000 jobs in August, an increase from July but lower than economists' expectations. Concurrently, previously reported gains for June and July were revised downward by a total of 86,000. Post-revision, the final June number of 118,000 ended at just over half of the initial estimate of 206,000. With the August result and the prior-month revisions, the trailing three-month average number of gains was just 116,000, compared to nearly 270,000 in the first quarter of 2024. Separately, the DOL also reported that the unemployment rate decreased in August to 4.2% from 4.3% in July.

Business Activity Diverges Again in August: The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported last week that its index of activity in the manufacturing sector, based on surveys of business executives, registered 47.2% in August. While marginally higher than 46.8% in July, the index remained below the 50% threshold distinguishing expansion of activity from contraction. Notably, the New Orders component of the index weakened to 44.6% from 47.4% in the prior month. These trends diverged once again from those in the services sector, where the ISM Services index activity inched higher to 51.5% in August from 51.4% in July.

Oil Prices See Large Weekly Drop: Oil prices plunged last week, enduring their sharpest weekly decline of the year. Futures prices for the U.S. oil benchmark, West Texas Intermediate Crude, fell 8% on the week before settling at $67.67 per barrel. This was the first sub-$70 reading since last December and the lowest level since June of 2023. The international benchmark, Brent Crude, suffered a similar fate, also dropping nearly 8% on the week and settling at the lowest level since December 2021. Analysts attributed the pressure to concerns of U.S. and Chinese economic slowdowns and the potential restart of Libyan oil exports.

As of September 9, 2024 Week Quarter-To-Date Year-To-Date One-Year
MSCI All Country World -3.70% 0.33% 11.67% 19.92%
S&P 500 -4.22% -0.70% 14.48% 22.91%
Russell 2000 -5.67% 2.36% 4.14% 13.26%
MSCI EAFE -2.83% 3.28% 8.79% 17.53%
MSCI Emerging Markets -2.24% -0.37% 7.09% 12.35%
FTSE NAREIT Equity -0.75% 12.18% 12.03% 22.89%
Bloomberg Commodity -2.37% -6.27% -1.45% -7.06%
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate 1.29% 5.15% 4.40% 9.93%
WSJ 9/6/2024, Reuters 9/6/2024, US Dept. Of Labor, Institute for Supply Management, Thomson Reuters 9/6/24. Data from Morningstar Direct. Returns for periods greater than one year are annualized. Investment advisory, named and independent fiduciary services are offered through Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors, LLC does not express an investment opinion regarding any specific commodity, sector or individual security. Unless otherwise expressly noted, the contents of this communication do not constitute securities or investment advice, nor should this communication be construed as an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors, LLC is a single-member, limited-liability company, with Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc. as its single member. Neither Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors, LLC nor their affiliates provide accounting, legal or tax advice. The information provided cannot take into account all the various factors that may affect your particular situation, therefore you should consult your Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors consultant before acting upon any information or recommendation contained herein to discuss the suitability of the information/recommendation for your specific situation.