Markets Brace for Impact: Jobs Report & Broadcom Earnings Dominate Holiday-Shortened Week

Hold onto your portfolios—this shortened trading week packs a one-two punch that could shake markets to their core.

The Jobs Report Juggernaut

Friday's employment data drops like an economic bomb—every whisper of wage growth or unemployment ticks will send traders scrambling. The Fed watches this closer than a hawk stalking prey.

Broadcom's Tech Showdown

Chip giant Broadcom steps into the earnings ring—their performance either fuels the AI hype train or exposes another overvalued tech darling. Semiconductor stocks hang in the balance.

Holiday Trading Whiplash

Thin liquidity meets major catalysts—a recipe for volatility soup. Expect exaggerated moves and maybe even a flash crash or two—because nothing says 'efficient markets' like panic selling on low volume.

So grab some popcorn—this week's economic theater might just deliver more drama than your average crypto pump-and-dump scheme. At least these numbers are real... probably.

Jobs Data Set to Land as Fed Eyes Rate Cuts

Friday’s release of the August employment report comes after prior months’ data revealed that the labor market may be weakening. While employers added jobs in July, revisions to the results from earlier months showed that job creation was weaker than previously reported. The report is the first after the July revisions were followed by the dismissal of the head of the government department issuing the data.

Federal Chair Jerome Powell cited the weakness in the labor market as he opened the door to interest rate cuts at the central bank’s September meeting. Other Federal Reserve officials are scheduled to speak this week, potentially offering more insight into the Fed’s next moves. Last week brought fresh inflation data.

Look for additional labor market data earlier in the holiday-shortened week, while trade balance and factory orders data is also on tap. 

Broadcom, Salesforce Earnings Keep Focus on AI

A chipmaker will once again highlight this week’s corporate earnings calendar, coming after last week’s update from Nvidia (NVDA). 

Broadcom’s (AVGO) report on Thursday will highlight the growth of another U.S. chipmaker, coming after it recently posted record quarterly revenue on strong sales of its AI semiconductors. Salesforce’s (CRM) report on Wednesday will also key on AI, as the cloud software giant has raised its sales forecast after making acquisitions to help improve its AI offerings. 

Design software maker Figma’s (FIG) report on Wednesday follows its recent initial public offering where its value soared as investors piled into the Adobe (ADBE) competitor. Another noteworthy report will come Tuesday from Nio (NIO), a Chinese Tesla (TSLA) competitor that recently released a new SUV to challenge the Model Y L.

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The Week Ahead: Key Events

• Stock, bond markets closed for Labor Day holiday

• Construction spending (July)
• More Data to Watch: ISM manufacturing PMI (August) S&P U.S. manufacturing PMI (August)
• Key Earnings: Zscaler (ZS), NIO, HealthEquity (HQY), Signet Jewelers (SIG), Academy Sports and Outdoors (ASO)

• Job openings (July)
• Federal Reserve Officials Speaking: St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem
• More Data to Watch: Factory orders (July), Federal Reserve Beige Book
• Key Earnings: Salesforce, Figma, Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE), Dollar Tree (DLTR), Campbell’s (CPB), C3.ai (AI)

• ADP employment (August)
• Fed Officials Speaking: New York Fed President John Williams, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee
• More Data to Watch: Initial jobless claims (Week ending Aug. 30), U.S. productivity (Q2), U.S. trade deficit (July), S&P final U.S. services PMI (August), ISM services PMI (August)
• Key Earnings: Broadcom, Lululemon (LULU), Samsara (IOT), Guidewire Software (GWRE), DocuSign (DOCU), Ciena (CIEN), ServiceTitan (TTAN), Toro (TTC)

• U.S. employment report (August)
• Key Earnings: ABM Industries (ABM)

One More Thing

The SEC is considering new rules that could speed the approval of new crypto ETFs, and a number of companies have filed applications for new products ahead of that possibility. Investopedia's Crystal Kim looked at what's going on and what it means in this story.