Markets Await Slew of Economic Data

Market action is quiet ahead of a slew of weekly economic data, some of which has been delayed due to the recent government shutdown. S&P futures have traded in a tight range only 6 futures handles, or 1/3%. Key among the anticipated economic releases is the September jobs data which was due 10 days ago and will finally be available Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. The August data of 169,000 new jobs was worse than consensus, so although this month’s consensus is 185k, the Fed may be looking for over 200k additional jobs to start thinking about tapering before year end. A poor number may take on even greater importance given the non-taper last month, and future pressure on the struggling economy due to the hiatus in government spending and its effect on civilian vendors. Anything less than 160,000 new jobs or an uptick in the unemployment rate may signal a moribund economy that will not give the Fed the impetus it needs to take action. New home sales, durable goods orders, and consumer sentiment data will round out the end of the week.