TDAmeritrade's J.J. Kinahan On Jobs Report, M&A And Market Performance

In his weekly Periscope video, TD Ameritrade’s J.J. Kinahan discussed the blowout June jobs number and what it means for the stock market and the U.S. economy. Benzinga also had the chance to talk to Kinahan about his outlook for the S&P 500 in coming months.

Economists are all praising the 287,000 jobs added in June, but Kinahan said that there’s still plenty of room for improvement when it comes to wage growth.

“One negative was wage growth, which was 1/10th of 1 percent,” Kinahan told Benzinga. “[The] Trend is around 2 percent, but you want to see around 3 percent.”

Related Link: What Does The Blowout June Jobs Report Mean For Investors?

With interest rates at historic lows and growth rates depressed, he believes the M&A environment will remain strong.

When Benzinga asked where he sees the most potential for M&A in the near future, he said drug and healthcare stocks are ripe sectors, as well as Internet technology stocks.

For the S&P 500, Kinahan believes the path of least resistance is now steeper.

“Still have to see the general market as a range-bound play,” he told Benzinga. “However, the resilience has been amazing, even with [the] financial sector really struggling of late.”

While the S&P 500 may soon re-test its all-time highs, he doesn’t see any major catalyst before the November election that indicates a major breakout to the upside.

The SPDR S&P 50 ETF Trust SPY is up 1.3 percent in Friday’s session following the release of the June jobs number.

Disclosure: The author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.