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Stocks just saw their longest losing streak since 1980

Elena Holodny   

Stocks just saw their longest losing streak since 1980
Finance3 min read

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump masks

Reuters/Dominick Reuter

Stocks swelled after the October jobs report, but backtracked on most of their gains in the afternoon.

And ultimately, all major indices finished slightly in the red.

The S&P 500 has now closed down for nine straight days - something that has not happened since December 1980, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices, who was cited by USA Today.

Stocks have been punctured by a combination of mixed third-quarter earnings results as well as the tightening in the polls ahead of Tuesday's election.

First up, the scoreboard:

  1. The final jobs report before the presidential election report whiffed, but wages surged. The US economy added 161,000 jobs, fewer than expected, while the unemployment rate ticked back down to 4.9%. Wages grew at the fastest pace since the financial crisis. Average hourly earnings rose 2.8% year-on-year, the fastest growth since 2009, and 0.4% month-on-month (0.3% forecast).
  2. Meanwhile, labor force participation ticked down slightly to 62.8%, down from September's 62.9%. However, in recent months, the labor-force participation rate has mostly ticked up or held steady, possibly indicating a tightening labor market as people who were previously discouraged from looking for work move back into the labor market.
  3. The Turkish lira plunged to a record low after Turkey arrested pro-Kurdish opposition leaders. The currency was down by as much as 1.9% at 3.1680 per dollar around 12:31 p.m. ET. The arrest of elected members of parliament, and the detention or suspension of more than 110,000 officials since a failed coup in July, may "go beyond what is permissible", the UN human rights office said, according to Reuters.
  4. Whole Foods spiked after a report that a major shareholder wants to make big changes. Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that the shareholder met with potential activist investors to discuss changing the retailer's management, and probably selling the company. The shareholder is one of Whole Foods' largest ten, the report said.
  5. GoPro plunged after reporting big misses on earnings, sales, and guidance. The maker of action cameras said its net income dropped 330% from last year and swayed to a loss of $84 million, or -$0.60 per share. Analysts had forecast a $0.36 loss according to Bloomberg.
  6. The US oil-rig count climbed by nine to 450 this week, according to oilfield-services company Baker Hughes. Last week, the oil rig count fell for the first time in four months, by two to 441. The rebound during those months - the longest streak since the oil crash - was small compared to the plunge that preceded it. There are 112 fewer active oil rigs compared to a year ago.
  7. Crude oil was all over the place as rumors concerning OPEC production swirled. An OPEC source told Reuters that the Saudis have threatened to raise their production amid renewed clashes with Iran, but a Bloomberg report surfaced soon after suggesting that that the Saudis never threatened to increase production.

ADDITIONALLY:

The Fed has everything it needs to raise rates in December.

Deutsche Bank's chief US economist thinks the economy has a lot of problems and very few solutions.

The jobs report is great news for Hillary Clinton, argues Business Insider's Bob Bryan.

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