Markets Hold Steady, Commodities Rise, Government Shutdown Looms

DoubleLine Portfolio Jeff Mayberry and Analyst Mark Kimbrough chart a quiet week ended Sept. 26 for equities (0:36) and fixed income (1:53) while commodities advanced led by energy. The week’s macro prints (4:40) included preliminary expansionary readings for manufacturing and services on the S&P PMI for September; revision of second-quarter GDP to 3.8% annualized; and Core PCE preserving a disinflationary trend, albeit with a recent pick-up in services prices. Looking ahead (12:25) to the week of Sept. 29-Oct. 3, the big question will be whether a budget standoff between congressional Republicans and Democrats leads to a government shutdown on Oct. 1. If the federal bureaucracy goes dark, private data such as the ADP employment report, Jeff Mayberry notes, could become more important than usual, given the absence of Bureau of Labor Statistics data and other reports.