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The Dow Jones and S&P 500 dipped today as the U.S. faces financial uncertainty over tariffs and tumultuous labor reports.
The Dow dropped over 500 points, more than 1%, in the morning after a federal appeals court struck down President Donald Trump’s tariffs on dozens of countries.
While Trump has time to appeal the 7-4 decision to the Supreme Court, the ruling has shaken the stock market, especially amid reports of a crumpling job market.
Stock Market Indexes on the Decline
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each dropped more than 1% as investors sold off bonds in the middle of tariff uncertainty. Stocks continue to dip as unemployment holds steady, with job prospects looking increasingly dire, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ July report.
Employment levels have remained unchanged since April, with the unemployment rate floating at 4.2%. Federal job losses continue to weigh on the labor market.
Revisions to May and June’s employment numbers showed a greater discrepancy than normal. The Bureau originally predicted that nonfarm payroll employment would add an estimated 144,000 jobs in May and 147,000 jobs in June. The revised numbers varied greatly, as only 19,000 and 14,000 roles were added in May and June, respectively.
Combined, employment clocked in at 258,000 fewer roles than previously reported. The Bureau will release August’s employment report on Friday, September 5, as investors seek to gauge the resilience of the labor market against wavering tariff policy.
How To Protect Your Investments
Market dips have become a recurring headline as of late, with major indexes sliding as policy flounders. In times like these, robo-advisors—online platforms that automatically build and manage investment portfolios based on your goals and risk tolerance—offer you a hands-off way to manage your investments.
Robo-investors aim to make investing easy by automatically diversifying your portfolio according to your risk tolerance. They are accessible entry points into investing, often offering low fees and features like built-in coaching and tax-loss harvesting.
Our favorite robo-advisors help make investing seamless:
- Fidelity Go is an affordable way to begin your investment journey. The service maintains a diversified portfolio based on your goals and risk level, with consumers able to start with as little as $10. Accounts under $25,000 incur no advisory fees, while higher balances are subject to a small 0.35% annual fee.
- Charles Schwab Intelligent Portfolios are a solid choice for cost-conscious investors, with no advisory fees and complimentary quarterly portfolio assessments. While there is a minimum requirement of $5,000, the service includes access to over 80 different portfolio variations, with a plethora of low-cost ETFs touted by in-house experts.
- E*TRADE Core Portfolios provide automated investing with more leeway. With a low $500 minimum and a 0.30% annual advisory fee, investors can personalize their portfolio and receive regular updates on market events and insights, and benefit from a dedicated support team.
Bottom Line
Robo-advisors simplify investing by eliminating undue stress and the need to spend copious amounts of time monitoring the market.
While all investments carry some level of risk, robo-advisors mitigate that risk through portfolio diversification, which is an essential tool for navigating market dips like we saw today.
