What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after a significant downward revision in U.S. job creation data fueled concerns about a weakening labor market.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 911,000 fewer jobs in the 12 months through March 2025 than previously reported. While this is a preliminary annual revision, it effectively halves the job growth previously thought to have occurred during that period. The update has amplified fears among investors that the job market is faltering. This weaker economic outlook is now reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to support the economy. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the odds of a 25-basis-point rate cut at the next Fed meeting now stand at 90%, as a cooling labor market gives the central bank more reason to ease monetary policy.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon added 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.
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:
- Design Software company PTC (NASDAQ: PTC) fell 3.5%. Is now the time to buy PTC? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Hospitality & Restaurant Software company Agilysys (NASDAQ: AGYS) fell 4.7%. Is now the time to buy Agilysys? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Data Infrastructure company Elastic (NYSE: ESTC) fell 3.4%. Is now the time to buy Elastic? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Vertical Software company Guidewire Software (NYSE: GWRE) fell 2.9%. Is now the time to buy Guidewire Software? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Agilysys (AGYS)
Agilysys’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 13 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 26 days ago when the stock dropped 3.2% on the news that a hotter-than-expected wholesale inflation report revived concerns about persistent inflation and tempered hopes for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The Producer Price Index (PPI) for July jumped 3.3% from a year earlier, surprising economists who had forecasted a 2.5% rate. This data revived concerns about persistent inflation and forced traders to reconsider the likelihood of a near-term interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. High-growth technology stocks, which dominate the SaaS landscape, are particularly sensitive to interest rate fluctuations.
Agilysys is down 15.5% since the beginning of the year, and at $109.48 per share, it is trading 22.8% below its 52-week high of $141.74 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Agilysys’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $4,518.
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