Stock Market Live September 5: Jobs Numbers Still Falling, S&P 500 (VOO) Still Rising
Key Points
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BLS data showed US jobs grew by only 22,000 positions in August.
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Weak jobs growth could set up a Fed interest rate-lowering by mid-September.
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Friday Wrap-up
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF closed Friday at 595.02, down 0.3% for the day but up 0.3% for the week.
Lower Expectations for Lulu
Truist Securities analyst Joseph Civello punished lululemon athletica for last night’s earnings miss with a downgrade to hold this morning, and a much lower price target of $170.
“2Q missed already-depressed investor expectations, and [lulu] materially lowered the FY outlook. In addition to weaker sales, the guide now embeds the full brunt of reciprocal tariffs, the removal of the de minimis exemption, and more markdown pressure.” The analyst sees a fair value for lulu stock at about 11.5x earnings.
On the plus side, lulu’s stock losses have moderated a bit, down “only” about 18% now. The Voo, on the other hand, has given up all its gains and is now down 0.6%.
Noodling on Nucor
Freedom Broker analyst Vitaly Kononov upgraded steelmaker and S&P 500 component company Nucor (NYSE: NUE) to “buy” with a $174 price target this morning.
“The U.S. steel market, supported by tariffs and infrastructure spending. China’s 2-5% steel output cuts in 2025, reducing global supply, bolster HRC prices ($800-$850/ton), benefiting Nucor’s EAF model,” says the analyst. “Coking coal prices, stable at $205/ MT, support cost predictability, though long-term green steel transitions (EAF/DRI) reduce reliance on coke. Improving pricing, healthy non-residential backlogs, and visible ramp-ups across new capacity (plate, towers/structures) position Nucor for sequential earnings recovery into late-2025/early-2026.”
Nucor stock is up 2.2% in response.
ABM Shot Down
Janitorial, parking, and facilities services company ABM Industries (NYSE: ABM) missed earnings by an unlucky thirteen cents this morning. Q3 earnings were only $0.82 per share, despite revenues coming in $70 million stronger than expected at $2.2 billion.
ABM stock is down 6.5% — but the Voo is still up 0.3%.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
So it seems the official government jobs report today is even worse than the ADP “private payrolls” report yesterday. According to ADP, private payrolls grew by only 54,000 net new jobs in August. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, though, all non-farm payrolls grew by only 22,000 in August.
That’s less than half as much. It’s also less than one-third of the 75,000 net new jobs economists were forecasting BLS to report. And yet, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) is up 0.4% in premarket trading today.
Why?
Well, the most popular theory is that “bad news is good news” when it comes to interest rates. Meaning the worse the economy looks, the more the Federal Reserve will feel urged to lower interest rates to encourage lending activity, and reaccelerate the economy. And with two back-to-back bad jobs reports, the odds are looking better than ever that when the Federal Open Markets Committee meets in a couple of weeks, it will decide to lower interest rates.
The official decision is due out September 17.
Earnings
A handful of S&P 500 component companies reported earnings after close of trading last night.
Lululemon Athletica (Nasdaq: LULU) beat earnings by $0.23 per share, earning $3.10 per share in Q2 despite revenues coming in $10 million short of expectations at just over $2.5 billion. Unfortunately for shareholders, lulu guided for a revenue miss in Q3, and a pretty substantial earnings miss as well; analysts are forecasting $2.90 in profit per share, but lulu says it will earn no more than $2.23 per share, wiping out the surplus earned in Q2.
Lulu stock is set to open 20% lower this morning.
Car parts salvager Copart (Nasdaq: CPRT) also beat earnings, by a nickel, reporting $0.31 per share for its own fiscal Q4 2025. Again, revenue came up just $10 million short at $1.1 billion.
Copart stock is down 2.5% premarket.
Semiconductors giant Broadcom (Nasdaq: AVGO) reported $1.69 per share in fiscal Q3 profit, three cents better than expected. Broadcom’s revenues were ahead of expectations at just under $16 billion, and the company guided for sequential growth to $17.4 billion in fiscal Q4.
Its stock is up nearly 15%.
© MPI / Archive Photos via Getty Images
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