What’s Next for Stocks After Jobs Report Crushes Rate Cuts Hopes
- The US added far more jobs than expected in December, and bond yields spiked.
- Markets now aren’t expecting interest rate cuts for the foreseeable future.
- Here’s what nine strategists say is next for rates and stocks.
A key stock-market catalyst for 2025 is in serious jeopardy less than two weeks into the year.
Interest rate cuts look like a long shot after an unexpectedly strong jobs report released on Friday. Job additions defied forecasts in December, rising 256,000 versus an estimate of 164,000. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%; it was expected to stay at 4.2%.
Lower interest rates were the backbone of many bullish market forecasts this year. Conversely, strategists regularly cited higher-for-longer…
