GB Market Commentary 05/10/2022
by Marcus Sotiriou
The S&P 500 had another impressive rally yesterday, rising by over 3%, as the market reacted positively to a worryingly weak jobs report. Bitcoin. However, struggled to sustain its rally above $20,400 and currently hovers at around $20,000.
Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data from August shows that job openings were 10.05 million, compared to the estimated 11.09 million. This is also a significant decrease from the prior month which had 11.17 million in job openings, which was revised down from 11.24 million. This drop from July to August marks the largest monthly drop since April 2020 and among largest drops on record.
The market reacted positively to this data because a drop in job openings indicates that inflation could slow in the coming months, as it could translate into slower wage growth. The Federal Reserve have clearly outlined that in addition to focusing on keeping inflation under control, they are also aiming to reduce the amount of job openings per unemployed person, as they believe wage growth is a huge factor for inflation remaining elevated.
U.S. CPI data being released on 13th October will tell us if the slowdown in job openings has had an impact on consumer prices yet.
The blockchain gaming sector continues to make positive strides as Sega, one of the biggest Japan-based gaming companies, has announced that it will build its first blockchain-based game. It will be based on the Sangokushi Taisen franchise, which is a popular arcade game in Japan, and built by another gaming company called Double Jump Tokyo.
Sega entering blockchain gaming is a great milestone, as it demonstrates interest from the traditional gaming sector, which is expected to be worth $321 billion by 2026 (according to a recent report from PwC).