What Happened?
Shares of financial services company Ameriprise Financial (NYSE: AMP) fell 4.3% in the afternoon session after a much weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report sparked concerns about an economic slowdown.
The U.S. economy added only 22,000 jobs in August, significantly missing the 75,000 that economists had forecasted, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Additionally, the unemployment rate increased to 4.3%, its highest level since October 2021, and the job gains for June were revised to show a loss. This sharp cooling in the labor market triggered fears of a more pronounced economic slowdown. While the data increased expectations for future interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, it wasn't enough to boost equities. Instead, the S&P 500 fell as investors worried the Fed may be behind the curve in preventing further economic weakness, leading to a broad sell-off that impacted financial services firms like Ameriprise.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Ameriprise Financial’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 5 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
Ameriprise Financial is down 7.5% since the beginning of the year, and at $490.42 per share, it is trading 14.7% below its 52-week high of $575.13 from January 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Ameriprise Financial’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $3,280.
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