“Just exactly how are investors expected to deal with the barrage of conflicting jobs data coming out of the US? On Friday markets shuddered on the news that the US economy had added far, far fewer jobs than anyone had expected in August, and today the latest JOLTS numbers job openings far outstripped the number of people looking for work.
But wait, today’s figures are a little behind the Delta curve giving the far rosier July picture than that painted in August. But markets are antsy, they feel the headwinds picking up and for the most part the expectation that the Fed’s taper won’t cause tantrums till much later down the line has now been fairly well priced in.
“In the UK housebuilders have provided a big drag on markets with Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon, Barratt and The Berkley Group all in the FTSE 100 red zone. Supply issues and labour shortages are impeding construction plans and there’s a real sense that the hot air provided by the stamp duty holiday has cooled and the market with it. People who’d managed to amass lockdown deposits thanks to a lack of anything else to spend their cash on have probably already hung curtains in their new abodes and this week’s mega office return will be watched carefully. Home working gave some workers an opportunity to move further from the office, others have been waiting to take the plunge, unsure if hybrid will be a passing fad or a long-term shift.
“And supply issues are front and centre as the Bank of England’s governor answers questions from the Treasury Committee. Consumers might have jumped right back into spending mode, but those massive global supply juggernauts are taking a little more time to power back up. It’s like a global game of Jenga with countries trying to tease blocks out from the centre of a precarious heap which keeps getting bigger. Bottlenecks are causing frustration, frustration’s leading to good old capitalistic price rises and the feeling that inflation might not have sung its last high note of this particular song.”
