The stocks market is selling off after disappointing earnings from Goldman Sachs, the Empire State manufacturing survey showed growth stalled in January, and as surging yields have investors abandoning rate-sensitive sectors such as technology. The emergence of skyrocketing expenses for Wall Street banks has many investors worried that wage inflation may have been broadly underpriced across the entire US economy.

US data

The Empire manufacturing data delivered a massive miss as omicron crippled supply chains and persistent labor shortages weighed on business activity.  The Empire headline plunged to -0.7 in January, a miss of the expected gain of 25.0 and prior reading of 31.9. The Empire manufacturing index delivered its first negative reading since June 2020 as firms remain generally optimistic about the six-month outlook. The pace of prices paid and received decreased but are still substantial.  The Empire survey suggests the omicron impact may have been greater-than-expected and this means the rest of the regional surveys may have significant downside surprises.

The NAHB Housing Market Index edged lower to 83, snapping a streak of four consecutive increases.  Consumer demand is still strong, but the housing market is softening over inflation concerns that come along with surging borrowing costs, constant labor shortages, and higher material costs.

Goldman

Goldman Sach’s shares got punished after a big miss with equities and compensation and expenses surged.  Goldman saw both revenue and compensation increase by 33%, with a headcount increase of 8% in 2021.  Equities trading revenue in the fourth quarter came in at $2.12 billion, much lower than $2.47 billion seen by analysts. The key takeaway from the big banks is that expenses are soaring and you can’t just assume they will do just fine as Treasury yields rise.

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Ed Moya

Senior Market Analyst, The Americas at OANDA

With more than 20 years’ trading experience, Ed Moya is a senior market analyst with OANDA, producing up-to-the-minute intermarket analysis, coverage of geopolitical events, central bank policies and market reaction to corporate news. His particular expertise lies across a wide range of asset classes including FX, commodities, fixed income, stocks and cryptocurrencies. Over the course of his career, Ed has worked with some of the leading forex brokerages, research teams and news departments on Wall Street including Global Forex Trading, FX Solutions and Trading Advantage. Most recently he worked with TradeTheNews.com, where he provided market analysis on economic data and corporate news. Based in New York, Ed is a regular guest on several major financial television networks including CNBC, Bloomberg TV, Yahoo! Finance Live, Fox Business and Sky TV. His views are trusted by the world’s most renowned global newswires including Reuters, Bloomberg and the Associated Press, and he is regularly quoted in leading publications such as MSN, MarketWatch, Forbes, Breitbart, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Ed holds a BA in Economics from Rutgers University.

Source: https://www.marketpulse.com/20220118/us-close-stocks-selloff-bond-yields-soar-empire-survey-plunges-nahb-edges-lower-goldman-shows-employees-money/