What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after markets pulled back, reversing early gains, as investor sentiment remained cautious despite a softer-than-expected inflation reading.
Stocks rose in the morning session after an unexpected drop in the Producer Price Index (PPI) for August signaled easing inflation and raised expectations for a potential Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the PPI, which measures wholesale prices, edged down 0.1% the previous month, contrary to analyst expectations for a 0.3% rise. This data gives the Federal Reserve more flexibility to consider lowering interest rates to stimulate the economy.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Broadcasting company AMC Networks (NASDAQ: AMCX) fell 3.4%. Is now the time to buy AMC Networks? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Wireless, Cable and Satellite company Altice (NYSE: ATUS) fell 2.9%. Is now the time to buy Altice? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Leisure Products company Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) fell 3%. Is now the time to buy Harley-Davidson? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Leisure Facilities company European Wax Center (NASDAQ: EWCZ) fell 5.1%. Is now the time to buy European Wax Center? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Broadcasting company E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ: SSP) fell 5.8%. Is now the time to buy E.W. Scripps? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On E.W. Scripps (SSP)
E.W. Scripps’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 90 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 1 day ago when the stock dropped 4% on the news that a significant downward revision of U.S. job creation data raised concerns about the health of the economy.
The Labor Department reported that employers added 911,000 fewer jobs from April 2024 through March 2025 than initially estimated. This revision brings the average monthly job gains during that period down significantly, suggesting a cooler labor market. The downgrades were widespread across various service sectors. The largest revisions were seen in leisure and hospitality, which added 176,000 fewer jobs than first reported, followed by professional and business services and retail. Such data is closely watched by investors and economists as it can influence the Federal Reserve's decisions on interest rates.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned that the U.S. economy is "weakening," though he stopped short of predicting a recession. "Whether it's on the way to recession or just weakening, I don't know," he said. Dimon's remarks are closely watched, given his influence as head of one of the nation's largest banks.
E.W. Scripps is up 12.3% since the beginning of the year, but at $2.83 per share, it is still trading 31.8% below its 52-week high of $4.15 from July 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of E.W. Scripps’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $253.81.
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