Dow Sags as Cramer Shreds Boeing for Wild ‘Clowns & Monkeys’ Memo
Source: AP Photo/The Columbus Dispatch, Courtney Hergesheimer
- The Dow briefly touched 29,000 before dropping from record highs.
- Boeing was once again a problem for the DJIA, and Jim Cramer roasted the company over the shocking memos being reviewed by the FAA.
- An average jobs report reinforced Nordea’s view that the Federal Reserve will have to cut rates in 2020.
The Dow Jones retreated from the historic level 29,000 as Boeing (NYSE: BA) stock tumbled on Friday afternoon.
Boeing earned an aggressive rebuke from CNBC’s influential “Mad Money” host, Jim Cramer, who called himself a “clown” for ever defending the aerospace company.
Further bad news was seen in a rather unimpressive jobs report that dented Dow bulls’ euphoria.
Dow Jones Stalls After Suspect Jobs Data
Unsurprisingly given Boeing’s troubles, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was comfortably the worst-performing of the three major stock market indices .
As of 3:25 pm ET, The blue-chip index had lost 105.88 points or 0.37% to settle at 28,851.02.
The Nasdaq (-0.23%) and the S&P 500 (-0.23%) also stumbled into the close, falling at roughly half the Dow’s pace.
In the commodity sector, the price of gold was back on the rise with a 0.37% rally after the disappointing jobs data weakened the US dollar. Crude oil slipped 0.9%, while bitcoin managed a 2.5% rally to edge back above the $8,000 handle.
Why the Stock Market Slipped Today
After decent ADP payrolls and initial jobless claims data earlier in the week, the stock market didn’t enjoy seeing non-farm payrolls miss forecasts on Friday.
Perhaps more worrying for Dow bulls was the sizeable slip in hourly earnings growth, particularly given that the consumer is the primary force driving the decade-long expansion in the United States economy.
Boeing’s 737 MAX issues are also relevant here, as news broke that suppliers are cutting jobs as the grounding persists , demonstrating that the aerospace giant’s struggles have wide-reaching implications for the stock market and US economy.
Nordea: Labor Report Just Good Enough to Keep Fed on Hold
Economists at Nordea don’t believe that this latest release is a game-changer for the Dow Jones outlook. But it does reinforce their view that the labor market is in decline and will likely cause the Federal Reserve to downshift back toward dovish monetary policy.
Overall, the December report was slightly disappointing. However, it was not THAT disappointing in terms of really changing the narrative of the Fed being on hold for now. Many market participants probably still view today’s job report as a sign that one should not really fear a slowdown in the labour market (and the service sector)…
We stick to our view that we will see weakness ahead in the labour market and that the Fed will cut one more time in this cycle in March 2020. The risk is, however, clearly towards the Fed being on hold for now.
Dow Stocks: Jim Cramer Rips into Boeing on CNBC
It was a pretty steady day for the Dow 30 , aside from the fall in Boeing (NYSE: BA). The release of internal memos to the FAA once again exposed chronic dysfunction at the largest US aerospace manufacturer.
Speaking on CNBC, “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer called himself “a clown” for supporting the company during the initial 737 MAX crisis, referencing the following leaked excerpt from the Boeing documents ,
This airplane is designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys.
Down 1.85% on the day, BA stock did post a substantial loss, but given the severity of the potential damage from these memos, it could have been a lot worse.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) are leading the Dow Jones this year with gains of more than 5.5%, and both closed the week strong.
Walgreens (NYSE: WBA) is the worst performer, down 8% year-to-date. It fell an additional 1% on Friday.
