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Lots of New Jobs, Stocks Retreat, and Hitting that Little White Ball

  • Writer: Doug MacGray
    Doug MacGray
  • Jun 8
  • 6 min read

June 7, 2026

A GREAT MONTH FOR JOBS: On Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. economy added 172,000 net new jobs in May, a lot more than was generally expected. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.3%.

STOCK WINNING STREAK ENDS: The Iran war seemed to take a back seat this past week. Oil prices did not move much, and news from the Middle East was indecisive. So what moved markets to decline? The tech sector took center stage once again on Friday when all the weekly declines occurred. The tech companies in the S&P 500 averaged a 5.3% loss on Friday, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite Index was down 4.68% for the week. On Friday, Nvidia dropped 6%, Broadcom fell 8%, and Micron was down 13%. It seems to point simply to these stocks getting ahead of themselves, and then a catalyst arrived to cause investors to reassess and take some profits. During the week, some tech companies reported great earnings, but projections for future sales didn't quite meet expectations. So, for example, Broadcom reported 48% year-over-year revenue increases, but its projections for AI chip sales for the next twelve months did not meet lofty market expectations, and its stock plummeted. Another catalyst on Friday was the aforementioned jobs report. The labor market came in unexpectedly strong, which, of course, made investors worry that the Fed will raise interest rates.


LONGER-TERM PERFORMANCE: Below are the annualized three-year and five-year numbers for these same indices.

THE U.S. MANUFUCATURING SECTOR REMAINS STRONG: For the fifth month in a row, the ISM Manufacturing Index showed a U.S. manufacturing sector that is expanding. May's index came in higher than expected, and at the highest score since 2022, meaning the manufacturing sector is growing at its fastest pace in six years. The index was 54.0 (anything above 50 means growth, and below means contraction). Growth was broad in May with 16 of the 18 manufacturing sectors coming in higher.

THE U.S. SERVICES SECTOR IS ALSO DOING WELL: The services sector in the U.S. is much bigger than the manufacturing sector. The ISM Services index also reported strong growth in May coming in at 54.5, the 23rd consecutive month of growth in that sector. Seventeen of eighteen sectors reported growth, with only real estate declining a bit.

THE FED: The U.S. Federal Reserve will meet in two weeks. New Chairman Warsh will lead the meetings for the first time. In the recent past, the Fed has been unusually divided. The last meeting saw the largest number of dissenters in 30 years. There is a tool called the CME FedWatch which gauges where the market believes the Fed will go with rates. This gauge had predicted two more rate cuts before year-end. That has turned completely around, and the current expectation is for one rate hike before year-end. Because inflation is running a bit higher, and now the labor market is beginning to get stronger, signs are pointing more toward a hike. We have never seen even one meeting led by this new Chair, and so these predictions may not come true. The important factor, however, is that these expectations drive markets, and they drove markets down on Friday.

AMERICANS LOSING CONFIDENCE IN RETIREMENT: According to a survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 61% of American workers are very or somewhat confident in having enough resources for retirement. A year ago, the number was 67%. In 2021, that number was 72%. Many have added to their wealth due to the rising stock market, but rising inflation is causing concerns. According to a survey by the same company, 41% of retirees said their retirement spending has been higher than expected when they first retired.

DON'T FORGET HOME MAINTENANCE: If you are planning for years or even decades in your home after you cease earning income, do not forget to figure in a healthy home maintenance budget. While you are earning income, when the inevitable home maintenance or home improvement project shows up, you figure out a way to pay for it by borrowing, using cash flow, or using money you have recently saved from your income. After you stop earning income, you have to draw from your investment resources. If you live in your home for a long time after you stop earning income, it is inevitable that a few big ticket items (roof, HVAC, repave the driveway, etc.) will show up from time to time. Figure those into your budget. Many retirees end up living in houses that have a lot of deferred maintenance because they either can't, or don't want to, expend the money to do the repair or improvement. It is much better to figure it in so you stay in a home that remains as up-to-date in retirement as it did during your working years.

AGING ALONE: Approximately 10% of the 125 million Americans aged 50 and older in the U.S. are alone and have neither a spouse nor a child in their lives according to a recent AARP report. This demographic is rising due to increasing divorce rates among older Americans and a distressingly rising number of adult children becoming alienated from their parents.

CAIRN UNIVERSITY GOLF OUTING: We supported Cairn University's annual golf outing again this year, and it was my obligation to play (such a difficult obligation). It was held at Stonewall, a fantastic golf course that is consistently rated in the top ten for Pennsylvania. Monday was a perfect golf weather day. My stance is not too bad. It's just the rest of the swing that needs work. I decided to go to one of the AI platforms and ask it to look at the picture below and rate my stance. It said I am "fairly solid overall," but I have a bit too much bend in the waist, shoulders that appear slightly slumped, and I'm a little too close to the ball. Golf is so hard.


Have a great week!


Our purpose is to honor God by helping our clients see the objective, find the path, and navigate past the obstacles to a more prosperous future.



Douglas R. MacGray, J.D., C.F.P. ®

President

Stonecrop Wealth Advisors, LLC

Direct | Cell | Fax

(610) 628 4545



"It's impossible to keep back the tears as you look across the rows of markers and think of the boys under them who died that day." Andy Rooney, 60 Minutes journalist and WWII veteran who landed on Omaha Beach, reflecting on the Normandy American Cemetery where 9,389 lay buried including 307 who remain unknown. (Last week marked the 82nd anniversary of D Day.)


"I cannot always sympathize with that demand which we hear so frequently for cheap things. Things may be too cheap. They are too cheap when the man or woman who produces them upon the farm or the man or woman who produces them in the factory does not get out of them living wages with a margin for old age and for a dowry for the incidents that are to follow. I pity the man who wants a coat so cheap that the man or woman who produces the cloth or shapes it into a garment will starve in the process." Benjamin Harrison*


"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27 (NIV)


*In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States, I am finding a quote from a president each week, in order. This is the 23nd week, and Benjamin Harrison was our 23rd president.


SOURCES:

STOCK WINNING STREAK ENDS: https://myweeklystock.substack.com/p/weekly-market-recap-jun-1-5-winning?publication_id=697043&post_id=200513306&isFreemail=true&r=s86er&triedRedirect=true AND https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/carnage-in-chip-stocks-hits-extra-hard-in-top-heavy-market-7f0ea76a?mod=stocks_news_article_pos1

THE U.S. MANUFUCATURING SECTOR REMAINS STRONG: https://www.ftportfolios.com/retail/blogs/economics/index.aspx


(c) 2026 Anno Domini, Stonecrop Wealth Advisors, LLC, All Rights Reserved Investment advisory services offered through Stonecrop Wealth Advisors, LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.


SDG


*S&P 500: This is a measure of the performance of the 500 largest companies in the United States, and it a common index to track the performance of U.S. equity markets, especially the large cap markets.

*MSCI All Country World Index X US: This is a broad measure of the performance of worldwide equity markets excluding the United States.

*Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate: This is a measure of the U.S. bond markets.

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