- Wall Street heads into September with the August jobs report taking center stage, while another round of AI-related earnings and Tesla's Cybercab launch could also move markets.
- The August jobs report is expected to show the U.S. added 58K jobs, with the unemployment rate holding at 4.1% and average hourly earnings rising 0.3%.
- These numbers will provide investors with a fresh read on the labor market and could influence expectations for the Federal Reserve's next move.
- AI spending will remain in focus during a busy week for tech earnings, with Dell reporting on Tuesday and Broadcom, Snowflake, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise following on Wednesday.
- Tesla will hold an invite-only Cybercab launch event on Thursday in Austin, with reports indicating riders could begin requesting the purpose-built autonomous vehicle through Tesla's existing Robotaxi app.
- Chipotle was downgraded by Baird from Outperform to Neutral, with a price target cut from $44 to $40 due to low-single-digit sales growth requiring heavier reinvestment.
- Zoom was upgraded by Benchmark to Buy, citing its resilient enterprise customer base and robust operating margin profile of 24.6% as strong downside protection.
- AMD was upgraded by Raymond James to Strong Buy with a price target of $641, as data center revenue relies heavily on server CPUs.
- First Solar was upgraded at BMO Capital to Outperform, with a target of $263, benefiting from domestic content incentives and utility-scale solar buildouts.
- Workday was upgraded by Guggenheim to Buy, with expectations of mid-teens subscription revenue growth alongside margin expansion.
Wall Street is gearing up for a pivotal week as the August jobs report is set to be released, with economists predicting an addition of 58,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 4.1%.12
Investors are keenly awaiting the report, which could influence the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decisions.3
AI earnings are also in the spotlight, with Broadcom expected to report a significant increase in AI semiconductor revenue, projected at $15.23 billion, up from $5.2 billion last year.45
Analysts are debating whether Broadcom will raise its fiscal 2027 outlook for AI revenue, which has been over $100 billion in previous calls.
Tesla's Cybercab launch event is scheduled for Thursday, where riders may start using the autonomous vehicle via the Robotaxi app.6
As the week unfolds, the focus will also be on other tech earnings, including Dell and Palo Alto Networks, with expectations for robust growth in AI-related sectors.
Friday's nonfarm payrolls report is crucial, with forecasts suggesting a slight uptick in the unemployment rate to 4.2%.
The odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike have increased following recent comments, now standing at over 55%.
Market analysts are closely monitoring these developments as they could significantly impact investor sentiment and market direction.
“Friday's payrolls are expected to show 58,000 jobs added with unemployment at 4.1%, while odds of a Fed rate hike at the mid-September meeting jumped to over 55% after Warsh's comments. Broadcom's AI semiconductor revenue is forecast at $15.23 billion, up from $5.2 billion a year ago.”
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