Stock Market News From Sept. 3, 2024: Why the S&P 500, Dow ...

A September chill breezed through Wall Street as the stock market opened lower in its return from the Labor Day weekend.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 180 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 was down 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8%.

“Right on cue, the first trading day of September has been accompanied by weakness in the futures,” Bespoke Investment Group co-founder Paul Hickey wrote. “One caveat worth pointing out is that much of the weakness is only erasing the late-day surge in the final minutes of trading last Friday.”

After rallying 18% in the first eight months of the year, the S&P 500 could have near-term challenges as Wall Street struggles to imagine a catalyst that would push stocks even higher. The main focus for markets this week will be economic data.

The Institute for Supply Management's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index is out at 10 a.m. A weak report last month sent stocks struggling before the July jobs report accelerated the selling. This time around, market participants will want to see some stability today followed by resilience from the August nonfarm payrolls. Of course, a "too hot" report could threaten potential interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

"Does a tree falling in a forest make a sound if no-one is around to hear it?" writes Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid. "Does a market collapse in early August count if everyone was on holiday while it happened? These are the great philosophical questions of our time. Now that September has arrived, there's no doubt everyone in the market will hear whatever we get out of Friday’s US jobs report and the Fed meeting on September 18."