Manufacturing Sector PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index)
Expectations: 47
Actual: 47.3
When business activity falls below 50 points, it indicates a slowdown in the manufacturing sector. According to the data, business activity continues to slow down (raising risks of a downturn/recession, an argument for the Fed to continue cutting rates), but the slowdown was not as sharp as investors had feared. Employment is declining at the fastest rate since 2010 (excluding the pandemic). "Things are not bad enough for investors to panic today, but bad enough for the Fed to continue cutting rates and easing monetary policy" in an attempt to save the economy and avoid a downturn, which is important for stock and crypto growth!
Number of Job Openings in the U.S. Labor Market (JOLTS)
Expectations: 7.640M
Actual: 8.040M
The labor market remains stable, the number of job openings is growing, which means the economy remains stable!