Soft Jobs Data • Veris Office Sale • Payrolls Ahead

April 6, 2023 | Hoya Capital

Soft Jobs Data • Veris Office Sale • Payrolls Ahead Daily Recap Apr 6 Written By Alex Pettee, CFA U.S. equity markets finished modestly-higher Thursday while benchmark interest rates hovered around seven-month lows as investors parsed another slate of soft employment data ahead of Friday's closely-watched BLS payroll report. Paring the majority of its declines for the Easter-shortened week, the S&P 500 gained 0.4% today while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rallied 0.7%.

The Mid-Cap 400 and Small-Cap 600 underperformed. Real estate equities were among the leaders today as investors weighed potential tailwinds from lower interest rates against recession concerns. The Equity REIT Index advanced 0.7% today. Veris Residential (VRE) surged more than 10% today after it announced the completion of its $420 million sale of its Harborside office portfolio in Jersey City - marking the effective completion of its strategy-shift from office and into pure-play multifamily.

Initial claims jumped to 228k last week - significantly above the 200k consensus estimate - while prior weeks were revised significantly higher as part of an updated methodology that the DOL says was necessary to adjust for pandemic-related distortions. Income Builder Daily Recap U.S. equity markets finished modestly-higher Thursday while benchmark interest rates hovered around seven-month lows as investors parsed another slate of weak employment data ahead of Friday's closely-watched BLS payroll report.

Paring the majority of its declines for the Easter-shortened week, the S&P 500 gained 0.4% today while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rallied 0.7%. The Mid-Cap 400 and Small-Cap 600 finished fractionally lower today, however, pushing their full-week declines to over 2.5%. Real estate equities were among the leaders today as investors weighed potential tailwinds from lower interest rates against recession concerns. The Equity REIT Index advanced 0.7% today with 15-of-18 property sectors in positive territory, while the Mortgage REIT Index finished fractionally lower.

Ahead of the March jobs report on Friday - unveiled to a closed U.S. equity and bond market ...