Signs of slowing wage growth coupled with a downbeat report about the services sector convinced investors that Fed policy makers will raise rates by only a quarter point at their next meeting, giving stocks a massive lift today. The S&P 500 jumped 87 points and the Dow Industrials soared 700.
The U.S. Labor Department said employers added 223,000 jobs in December – the smallest monthly gain in two years – with average hourly earnings up just 4.6 percent year-over-year, down from the March peak of 5.6 percent.
For a second straight day, shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) tumbled. Yesterday it was a 30 percent plummet; today the stock slid 22 percent after the Wall Street Journal reported that the troubled home-goods retailer is in the early stages of readying a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
U.S. oil futures finished a smidge higher today. February crude edged up a dime to settle at $73.77 a barrel.
