Weekly column: Strong jobs can’t save Wall Street from a 4.2% Nasdaq crash

Review

US labor data matters because in the Wile E. Coyote trajectory, consumers need to cut their savings rate to pay for higher prices and maintain spending. That process is threatened if price increases overwhelm available savings, or if consumers feel fearful about the future. Fear of the future tends to correlate with job security. So far, the “no fire” part of the U.S. “no hire, no fire” labor market is reassuring consumers, supporting spending even as real incomes suffer.

— Paul Donovan, “Why Work Matters,” UBS Daily Update, June 5, 2026.

The monthly employment report released on Friday morning shattered expectations, showing that the U.S. economy added 172,000 jobs in May. Adding to this positive news was the fact that employment gains exceeded 100,000 for the third consecutive month, something that hasn’t happened in almost two years. In addition, both March and April payroll numbers were revised higher, also something that hasn’t happened that often.

This all looks very good on the surface, but there is more to the story. As Dr. Donovan alludes to, real wages are falling (inflation is outpacing wage growth), forcing people to utilize other means (savings or credit) to maintain current spending. This is important because a healthy, vibrant economy needs consumer spending. If enough participants are forced to curtail their spending, the economy starts to contract. Perhaps Friday’s stock market tantrum was akin to Wile E. Coyote looking down and realizing he had indeed run off the cliff chasing that darn Road Runner. However, in the cartoon, Mr. Coyote never plummets to the ground straight away. He is always afforded the chance to get back to the edge of the cliff while trying to run in midair. Personally, I am really rooting for him to make it back to the edge this time!

It was shaping up to be a good week for U.S. stocks, until it wasn’t. All three major indices hit new all-time highs last week before the rug was pulled out from under equities on Friday. The Nasdaq Composite fared the worst, finishing down over 4.2% on the day. It was a subdued week for European stock markets as the German DAX and Zurich SMI corrected off the previous week’s highs. It was much the same for London’s FTSE. In Asia and the Pacific Rim, the Shanghai Composite and the Hang Seng Index also continued corrective price action. It is probably a good thing it was Friday, or else European and Asian markets might have been in trouble when they opened back up for trading following the debacle in the U.S. markets. The star of the week was the Japanese Nikkei, which soared to a new all-time high and held on to much of the gains into the close.

It wasn’t just U.S. stocks that took it on the chin on Friday, either. Much of my trading screen was bright red heading into the close. Metals got smacked around with Silver falling over 8% on the day (the air/air solar lunar combo strikes again!). It should be noted that Copper came close to setting a new all-time high on Tuesday before following the rest of the metals complex lower. It was an up and down week for Crude Oil, which started out sharply higher earlier in the week on yet another “no peace deal” between the U.S. and Iran, but then, like Copper, gave it all back by the end of the week.

In the agricultural space, it was just plain depressing if you are a producer (as I am) or a bullish grain trader. Corn fared the worst, giving up almost 7% on the week, followed by Soybeans hitting fresh 4-month lows. The most bullish (if you can even call it that) grain market was Wheat, which, while down, hasn’t yet taken out the April 10 low and settled a mere penny lower on Friday.

On a side note, I experienced a true “Farmers Paradox” today, sitting at my desk writing this column. In my small corner of the world, we hadn’t had a good soaking rain in over 3 weeks, and it was starting to stress the corn and soybean plants, even though the crops are still small and growing. Well, needless to say, we finally caught a rain today, and I couldn’t help but stare out the window with a sense of calm relief about all the bushels of grain that were still theoretically possible. However, as I reverted my eyes to the computer screens, which were showing the current grain futures prices in free fall, that feeling was quickly replaced by a sense of loathing with the realization that even though I may produce more bushels, I am actually not going to make any more profit in the end! What time does happy hour start again?

Friday’s carnage also spread to crypto-land, where Bitcoin and Ethereum had epically bad performances to top off a brutal week for “HODLers” (those who Hold On for Dear Life to their digital assets). Both cryptocurrencies fell below their February 6 lows, signaling the bears are in full control of this sector. Having said that, Bitcoin is in the time band for at least a temporary low of some sort to form in June. However, since we have fallen below the February 6 low, I’m afraid further downside remains following a corrective rally. Our call for $30,000 or lower, as given in the Forecast 2026 book and webinars, is looking very believable now, after several months of skepticism by others

In currencies, the Dollar is quietly having a decent rally off of the lows set in January of this year. I like that it is hard to find someone with a bullish bias toward the ‘buck,’ and, in all honesty, I don’t hate the chart pattern developing. The key level to watch moving forward is 100.50. The other currency to watch next week might be the Yen. It is back to levels that have prompted Japan’s central bank to intervene in the past, most recently at the end of April.

Short-term geocosmics

Geocosmically, June is a fairly quiet month before the real show takes place starting in July. However, next week we do have a Venus/Jupiter conjunction taking place on June 9. Venus rules over currencies and soybeans, so we may see some movement in these markets around that time. Again, watch for possible intervention in the Japanese Yen.

LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS AND OPINION

 An excerpt from the latest MMA Monthly Crypto Report released on June 3 and written by analysts Gianni Dipoce and Pouyan Zolfagharnia…

“From a geocosmic standpoint, it’s been rather muted for crypto since Uranus ingressed into Gemini. The greater concern persists with the historical Uranus studies done by Ray Merriman, and how they could tie into cryptocurrencies this time around. Sectors ruled by the sign that Uranus is transiting tend to experience incredible “boom-bust” cycles, whereby prices can appreciate 4–8x (in the crypto case, it was more), but they’re then followed by 70–90% declines. But perhaps the worst part is how the previous all-time highs are not exceeded for years, and in some cases, for over a decade.  

Look at when Uranus was in Aquarius, for example. The Nasdaq topped out in March 2000 and didn’t make a new all-time high until 2015. Then there was Uranus in Pisces for Crude Oil. We still haven’t taken out Crude Oil’s high from 2008, and it’s been 18 years. This type of information isn’t meant to instill fear, but rather to raise awareness. The “buy and hold” strategy so fitting to Taurus just isn’t going to cut it this time. Gemini, through its mercurial nature, is much more dynamic. Cryptos could very well be entering a new trading era, whereby powerful, volatile price swings in both directions unfold”.

Uranus left the sign of Taurus (money and currencies) and entered the sign of Gemini on April 25. It will remain there for approximately the next 6 years. During its time in Taurus, Bitcoin registered an astounding 3,500% appreciation from its 2019 lows to its October 2025 high. This certainly classifies as a Uranus-fueled “boom”. But now the question becomes, “Will there be a bust?” The history of Uranus changing signs certainly suggests it is a strong possibility.

Even if a “bust” phase develops, Bitcoin will still offer tremendous intermediate trading opportunities where sizeable gains are likely to be achieved. However, as the excerpt points out, the buy-and-hold strategy, where an investor sees another 3,500% return in the next 6 years, is not a high probability outcome according to historical precedent. Even Michael Saylor’s strategy seems to signal this change in sentiment, with a sale of 32 Bitcoins in recent weeks. Admittedly, this is an insignificant amount compared to the 843,706 Bitcoins the company still owns. Still, I found it strangely symbolic that a company wholly built around the concept of accumulating and holding Bitcoin made a sale within a month of Uranus leaving the sign of Taurus.

As Uranus spends the next 6 years in the sign of Gemini, as a trader, I can’t help but think that Kenny Rogers’ song “The Gambler” might offer some good advice. Specifically, the line “You gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, know when to run.” (go ahead and sing it out loud, I know you want to!)