Sure enough, average hourly earnings rose 5.2% year-over-year — well above expectations. This could be seen by the market as a sign that inflationary pressures remain strong. Click here for the full story. — Fred Ebert

Elon Musk believes we have passed peak inflation

Elon Musk has said he believes we are past inflation and predicts a mild 18-month recession. Musk’s comments were made at Tesla’s 2022 shareholder meeting, which took place on August 4. “We have a good picture of where the prices of things go over time because when you’re building millions of cars, you have to buy goods many months before you need them,” he said. —Carmen Reinick —By Michelle Fox

DoorDash is growing after record orders

A delivery man for Doordash rides his bike in the rain during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Manhattan borough of New York, New York, US, November 13, 2020. Carlo Allegri | Reuters Shares of DoorDash rose more than 10% in premarket trading on Friday after the company reported quarterly results that beat expectations after the market closed on Thursday. The food delivery service said orders were up 23 percent from last quarter and revenue was up 30 percent. The company expects softer consumer spending in the second half of the year, it said. —Carmen Reinick

Set of oils for rapid weekly loss

Oil prices were modestly lower in Friday morning trading on Wall Street and on track for sharp weekly losses. Concerns about slowing demand have pushed prices lower in recent sessions. West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the benchmark for US oil, fell 10.5% for the week, while international benchmark Brent fell 14.5%. — Pipe Stevens

Bitcoin, Ether on track for worst week since July 1st

Cryptocurrencies have retreated this week after a rough start to the month. Bitcoin and Ether are down about 3% for the week to date and on pace to post their first negative week in five. The performance would also be the worst weekly decline since July 1, when Bitcoin lost 8.71% and ether lost 13%. —Carmen Reinick

Warner Bros. is sinking

Leslie Grace attends the Warner Bros. premiere of ‘The Suicide Squad’ at The Landmark Westwood on August 2, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Axelle/bauer-griffin | Filmmagic | Getty Images

Stifel raises S&P 500 target for second half

Stifel’s Barry Bannister raised his second-half S&P 500 target to 4,400 from 4,200, noting that he continues to favor cyclical growth stocks in sectors such as software and media. Here are two reasons Bannister gave for hitting his target:

“S&P 500 1H22 sell-off still reversing.” “The S&P 500 also discounts 2022 year-over-year negative S&P 500 EPS, but we see 2022 EPS holding its own.”

Bannister’s new target implies a 6% gain from Thursday’s close. — Fred Ebert

European shares steady ahead of key US jobs report

European markets were flat on Friday morning as investors watched corporate earnings and awaited the key US jobs report. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was little changed in early trade. Autos gained 0.8% while insurance stocks fell 0.8%. Earnings continue to drive the price movement of individual stocks in Europe. Allianz, Deutsche Post, London Stock Exchange Group and WPP were among the companies listed before the bell on Friday. – Elliott Smith

Asian markets shrug off fears of military tensions over Taiwan

Asia-Pacific markets rose on Friday as investors shrugged off fears over China’s military exercises near Taiwan, which followed US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the self-ruled island this week. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.74 percent. Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.28 percent and the Shenzhen Component rose 0.64 percent. Taiwan’s Taiex jumped more than 2 percent, with chipmaker TSMC up 2.8 percent.

Lower job numbers don’t mean a weaker economy, says investor

If Friday’s jobs report shows the U.S. economy added fewer workers in July than the previous month, it’s not necessarily a sign of economic weakness, according to Brad McMillan, CIO at Commonwealth Financial Network. “If we see a decline in hiring, even at the expected number, it seems much more likely to be due to a lack of workers than a sudden shock to labor demand,” McMillan said in a note. “With strong demand, what matters here is labor availability.” — Yun Li

Some on Wall Street don’t think the comeback rally can be sustained

The Fed’s pledge to reduce inflation as well as the easing of recession fears have sparked a relief rally in the market. The S&P 500 now sits 14.2% above its 52-week intraday low of 3,636.87 from June 17. The benchmark is also coming off its best month since November 2020, gaining more than 9% in July. However, some on Wall Street are skeptical that the rally can be sustained much longer. Max Kettner, head of multi-asset strategy at HSBC Bank said the comeback was “wishful thinking” and would need to see a further repricing of rate hike expectations and another sharp fall in real yields to believe it. Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson, who followed widely, also called this rally short-lived as corporate earnings begin to deteriorate. Zoom Icon Arrows pointing out

Consumer discretion drives gains, energy biggest laggard this week so far

Six of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors were in the green week to date, led by consumer discretionary, which gained 2.9%. The most negative sector this week was energy, which is down more than 8% and is on track for its worst week since June 17. The drop in energy names came amid falling oil prices. WTI is down more than 10% this week, on pace for its worst week since April. — Yun Li