Trading Week Wrap Up! – 10/02/26

Another trading week is in the books—and September just gave us a lot to digest. The labor market is slowing. Inflation pressures haven't disappeared. Manufacturing is still expanding. Treasury yields remain above 5%. And after the Federal Reserve's September rate hike, traders are already trying to figure out whether another one is coming. On today's TraderMerlin, we're putting all the pieces together in another Trading Week Wrap Up! I'll break down the biggest market headlines of the week, unveil my latest Fed Scorecard, run through the major economic data we received for September and, of course, give you updates on my own trades. And today's jobs report just made the Fed's job considerably more interesting. The U.S. added only 29,000 jobs in September, well below expectations, while previous payroll numbers were revised lower. That's important because we've spent much of the past few weeks worrying about an economy that might be running too hot for the Fed. Now we're getting a different signal. So which is it? Is the economy finally cooling enough to stop the Fed—or is inflation still strong enough to force another rate hike anyway? That's where my Fed Scorecard comes in. Rather than obsessing over one headline number, we'll look at the different pieces of the economy that could influence the Fed's next decision and see whether the overall picture points toward Hike, Hold or something else entirely. We'll discuss: My Latest Fed Scorecard – What the current economic data suggest about the Fed's next move September Jobs Report – Just 29,000 new jobs and significant downward revisions to previous months Labor Market – Is employment finally beginning to crack, or simply normalizing? September Data Roundup – The good, the bad and the confusing signals coming from the economy Manufacturing – Economic activity remains in expansion territory, but input prices are raising another inflation warning Inflation – Why the Fed still can't declare victory Treasury Yields – What 5%+ yields are telling us about inflation, government debt and monetary policy Stocks – Why weaker economic data can sometimes become good news for equities Market Leadership – What's actually driving the major indexes right now? My Trade Updates – What's working, what isn't and how I'm adjusting risk What's Next – The economic reports and market catalysts that could drive the next major move And there's a fascinating contradiction developing. Today's weak jobs report reduced expectations for an October rate hike and helped stocks rally. Yet Treasury yields remain stubbornly high. Meanwhile, September manufacturing data showed continued economic expansion and rising input-price pressures. Weak employment. Strong manufacturing. Persistent inflation concerns. 5%+ Treasury yields. A Fed that just raised rates. Welcome to monetary policy in 2026. That's why simply saying "jobs were weak, therefore the Fed won't hike" misses the bigger picture. We need to look at the entire economic scoreboard. And that's exactly what we're doing today. Listen now:👉 Trading Week Wrap Up! We'll break down the headlines, score the Fed, review September's economic data and take a look at how my own trades are progressing. Because markets don't move on one number. They move when all the pieces start changing the story. Hit Like, Subscribe, and send in your questions for the next TraderMerlin show! 🔖 Tags #TraderMerlin #TradingWeekWrapUp #FederalReserve #FedScorecard #FOMC #InterestRates #RateHikes #JobsReport #NonfarmPayrolls #Unemployment #EconomicData #Inflation #TreasuryYields #BondMarket #Manufacturing #ISM #StockMarket #SP500 #Nasdaq #DowJones #Trading #Investing #TradeUpdates #MarketAnalysis #TechnicalAnalysis #FinancialEducation Email – TraderMerlin@gmail.com Follow TraderMerlin: Twitter: TraderMerlin - https://twitter.com/TraderMerlin IG: TraderMerlin - https://www.instagram.com/tradermerlin/ FB: TraderMerlin - https://www.facebook.com/TraderMerlin Live Daily Show: - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCczw6L9MSllTvWDK1fNlLrg Trading Applications used: - Tradingview