Bad economic news so far has been mostly positive for the stock market, as investors worry over whether the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates. There's a danger, though, of overdoing it, where too much bad news could signal a significant downturn and even recession ahead. That's the dilemma the market finds itself in approaching a week of critical data , mostly focusing on the all-important U.S. labor market, which in turn provides signals about the health of the consumer.
Fears about a more hawkish Fed on inflation have caused multiple bouts of volatility in the stock market. That brings the market to this week's run of data, which includes surveys on job openings and private job creation, concluding Friday with the Bureau of Labor Statistics' nonfarm payrolls report. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect growth of 178,000 jobs for the month, which would be about in keeping with April's 175,000, and likely hold the unemployment rate at 3.9%.