The February Jobs Report was a lethal dose for stock markets, particularly the S&P 500. After initially rising on news of the report’s release, stocks sold off as investors digested its contents. The report showed that job growth had slowed down significantly in February compared to January and December 2020. This indicated that economic recovery may be slower than previously thought and could lead to further market volatility in the near term.
In terms of winning sectors and buys, consumer discretionary stocks were among that outperforming after the jobs report due to their close correlation with consumer spending trends, which are expected to remain strong throughout 2021 despite any potential slowdowns from other areas of economic activity. Healthcare also remains an attractive sector given its defensive nature during times of uncertainty while energy has been buoyed by higher oil prices over recent weeks making it another potential buy for investors looking for long-term gains or income generation through dividends respectively.
On the flip side, however, information technology is one sector that should be avoided at present due largely to concerns about valuations being too high relative to fundamentals such as earnings growth prospects going forward. As such, this makes IT a riskier bet at present even though there have been some positive developments within this space recently so caution is advised when considering investments here until more clarity emerges on future performance metrics…
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