Can the rally survive without the tech trade. Well, let's bring in Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management CIO Brent Shudy and Capital Area Planning Group managing partner and CNBC contributor Malcolm Ethridge. It's great to have you both here.And Brent, I will kick off this conversation with you because as we started this hour, Mike Sani laid out how poor breath has been here as Megaap Tech has continued to lead the charge. Uh, is that just the way we need to think about this market and how to be invested in ...

Core Insights - Employment in the U.S. private sector declined by 32,000 jobs in September, indicating a faster-than-expected cooling of the job market [2][5] - This decline is the largest since March 2023 and is significantly below the Dow Jones consensus of an increase of 45,000 jobs [2][3] Employment Trends - Job losses were widespread across various industries, with notable declines in leisure and hospitality (19,000 jobs), professional and business services (13,000), transportation and utilities (7,000), and construction (5,000) [3] - Education and health services added 33,000 jobs, but overall job losses overshadowed this gain [3] Data Integrity Concerns - ADP reported a higher-than-normal number of missing or redacted values in the data set received from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which affected the granularity of the benchmark calculations [4] - The preliminary estimate from the QCEW suggested a record decline of 911,000 jobs over the 12 months ending in March [4] Federal Reserve Implications - The ADP report may be the last jobs data available to the Federal Reserve before its next meeting on October 28, with expectations of the unemployment rate remaining at 4.3% [5] - The Fed has indicated a weakening labor market, with rising unemployment and inflation above the 2% target influencing recent interest rate cuts [6] Consumer Sentiment - Consumer confidence regarding job availability has declined, with only 26.9% of consumers finding jobs to be "plentiful," the lowest since February 2021 [6] - There has been a significant drop in Americans' views of their current financial situation, marking the largest monthly decline since data collection began in 2022 [6]

Economic Risks - The real economy is experiencing increasing unpleasant risks, primarily due to high inflation and a weakening labor market [1] Inflation Concerns - Inflation remains stubbornly high, contributing to economic instability [1] Labor Market Weakness - The labor market is showing signs of weakening, which poses additional risks to the economy [1]

Group 1 - Economists at Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank are predicting accelerated Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts due to slowing inflation and a weakening labor market [1][3] - The Fed is expected to announce a 25 basis-point cut at its upcoming meeting, with traders anticipating further reductions in October and December [1][2] - Deutsche Bank has revised its forecast to include a third interest-rate cut in 2025, while Morgan Stanley expects cuts at four consecutive meetings through January [1][4] Group 2 - Morgan Stanley forecasts that the upper bound of the target range will reach 3.5% by January, with cuts expected in September, October, December, and January [2][5] - Economists suggest that the Fed will pause after January to assess inflationary impacts, with potential further cuts anticipated in April and July [4][5] - The argument against a larger 50 basis-point cut this month is based on the relatively low unemployment rate and the current fed funds rate being closer to neutral [6]