Headline RoundupAugust 2nd, 2024

How Bad Was the Stock Downturn on Friday?

Summary from the AllSides News Team

U.S. stocks had quite a bad day on Friday, driven by a disappointing jobs report and a shaky tech industry. The downturn capped a rough few weeks for the stock market and stirred talk of a potential recession.

Key Details: The Nasdaq Composite ended the day 10% lower than its all-time peak just a few weeks ago on July 10. The recession indicator known as the Sahm Rule hit 0.53, above its threshold of 0.50.

For Context: July’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed unemployment at a three-year high of 4.3% and fewer jobs added than expected. And recent big tech earnings reports have disappointed investors as the fruits of enormous AI investment have not materialized thus far.

Low Coverage Volume: As of Friday evening, few sources featured the news near the top of their home page; those who did included finance-focused CNBC (Center bias), Reuters (Center), and Economist (Lean Left), as well as New York Times (Lean Left).

Recession?: Right and center outlets were more likely to mention recession fears and the Sahm Rule, angles which the right covered sensationally. A headline from Blaze Media (Right) said the stock market had “crashed” and that Trump blamed the poor jobs numbers on “Kamalanomics.”

It’s Complicated: Left outlets framed the downturn as less severe. New York Times wrote that stocks had “skidded” and investors were “startled” by the “soft” BLS report. Economist and New York Times pointed to the tech industry’s woes as a major factor.

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