The S & P 500 index dipped Friday but logged its third straight weekly gain on the back of three record closes last week. For the week, the S & P 500 rose just over 0.6%; the Dow Jones Industrial Average , which closed at another record Friday, gained almost 0.6%; the Nasdaq advanced nearly 1% but remained a few percentage points below the all-time closing high on July 10. Friday brought further confirmation that inflation remained on the right path.
At the time, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that policymakers would be paying much closer attention to the labor market, saying they see the "risks to achieving our employment and inflation goals as roughly in balance, and we are attentive to the risks to both sides of our dual mandate." Remember, roughly two-thirds of U.S. economic activity is driven by consumer spending. As a result, stable employment and wages are key to avoiding a recession.