Image Source: PexelsIt was a tough day for the market indexes. With jobs numbers looming later this week, market participants took a look at stock levels and decided they were too high. The Dow tumbled -626 points, -1.51%, while the Nasdaq shed -577 points, -3.26%. The S&P 500 and small-cap Russell 2000 were down -2.12% and -3.09%, respectively.This was the worst single trading day for tech stocks two years — the worst for the chips segment since 2020. Magnificent 7 stock leader NVIDIA (NVDA – Free Report) fell -9.5% today, more than cutting in half its gains for the month. The blue-chip Dow stock Boeing (BA – Free Report) was taken lower by a -7.3% sell-off today, on a downgrade to Underperform by Wells Fargo (WFC – Free Report).

ISM Manufacturing Lighter than Expected

This morning after the opening bell, ISM Manufacturing reported a lackluster August: +47.2% on headline was 70 basis points (bps) below expectations, though 40 bps ahead of the prior-month’s 46.8%. Anything below 50% on this metric illustrates depletion. S&P final Manufacturing PMI for August also released results this morning, coming in a tick below estimates to +47.9. Elsewhere, Construction Spending for July matched the previous month’s -0.3% headline, but was 20 bps below expectations.So we are seeing some economic erosion in manufacturing continue, and construction spending, which had been stronger through most of the year to date, is also slumping. Much is riding on a lowered interest rate level two weeks from tomorrow — but will it be a deep-enough cut to even notice?

Zscaler Beats but Lowers; Stock Gets Hit in Late Trading

Cloud security firm Zscaler (ZS – Free Report) has reported fiscal Q4 results after today’s close. Even though the company beat on both top and bottom lines — earnings of 88 cents per share on revenues of $593 million outpaced the 69 cents per share and $567.6 million expected — its lowered guidance for the coming fiscal year was a disappointment. ZS shares, which has come down -3.4% on a tough trading day, are down another -7.7% in late trading.

What’s Next for the Week: Jobs Numbers, AVGO Earnings

Obviously, the big report investors will all have their eyes on is Friday’s Employment Situation report. We already know the labor market is cooling; depending how bad these numbers come in may determine whether we see a 50 bps rate cut on September 18th or just 25 bps.Wednesday brings up JOLTS job openings/quits, and Thursday ahead of the open we’ll see private-sector payrolls from ADP (ADP – Free Report) and Weekly Jobless Claims, further adding color to the overall employment picture. In addition, semiconductor developer Broadcom (AVGO – Free Report) reports its earnings quarter Thursday after the market closes. The stock dropped -6% today alone.More By This Author:Boring Regular Trading, Big After-Market On Q2 Beats: JWN, AMBA, BOXMarkets Take A Breather Ahead Of Jackson Hole Address S&P Breaks Winning Streak On Tepid Trading Day