Last Updated 4:05 PM EST
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Stock indices finished today’s trading session in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq 100 fell 1.02%, 1.17%, and 1.59%, respectively.
The real estate sector was the session’s laggard, as it lost 2.9%. Conversely, the energy sector was the session’s leader, with a gain of 1.91%. In addition, WTI crude oil gained as it hovers around the mid-$79 per barrel range.
Furthermore, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield increased to 3.71%, an increase of more than two basis points. Similarly, the Two-Year Treasury yield also increased, as it hovers around 4.46%.
The Atlanta Federal Reserve updated its latest GDPNow reading, which allows it to estimate GDP growth in real time. The “nowcast” becomes more accurate as more economic data is released throughout the quarter. Currently, it estimates that the economy will expand by about 3.8% in the fourth quarter.
This is lower than its previous estimate of 3.9%, which can be attributed to recent releases from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Institute for Supply Management, and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Nevertheless, inflation continues to be a problem around the world. Therefore, it’ll be interesting to see what the actual GDP growth will be and how it’ll change going forward as higher rates start to impact the economy.
Last updated: 2:26 PM EST
Stocks remain under pressure in response to today’s jobs report, which was discussed in the previous two updates. As of 2:26 p.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq 100 are down 0.9%, 0.9%, and 1.1%, respectively. Unfortunately, gas prices are doing the opposite.
Indeed, the national average for regular gas was last $3.285 per gallon, up from last week’s reading of $3.159. Still, this remains significantly lower than the all-time high of $5.016 per gallon on June 14.
The highest prices can be found in Hawaii, where prices are substantially higher than the national average, at $5.02 per gallon. On the other hand, Georgia is the state with the lowest gas prices, at $2.826 per gallon.
It’ll be interesting to see if this upward trend will continue going forward as the Federal Reserve looks to raise interest rates to fight inflation while oil producers lower production in order to maintain the price.
Last updated: 11:36 AM EST
Investors aren’t too happy with today’s jobs data, as it came in better than expected. This means that the Federal Reserve will likely maintain its hawkish stance in order to cool down the economy, thus making it difficult for stocks to rally.
In addition to the ADP National Employment report mentioned in the previous update, the Department of Labor released its Initial Jobless Claims report, which came in better than expected. In the past week, 204,000 people filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. Expectations were for 225,000 individuals.
When using the four-week average, initial jobless claims were 213,750, down from last week’s reading of 220,500.
In addition, Continuing Jobless Claims, which measures the number of unemployed people who qualify for unemployment insurance, came in at 1.694 million. This was below the forecast of 1.708 million and lower than last week’s print of 1.718 million.
As a result, as of 11:36 a.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq 100 are down 1.2%, 1.1%, and 1.2%, respectively.
Last updated: 9:35 AM EST
The December ADP National Employment report produced by the ADP Research Institute indicated that employment in the private sector went up by 235,000 jobs in December, exceeding consensus expectations of 145,000 jobs.
However, the hike in pay growth on an annual basis was the lowest since March of last year and was up 7.3% year-over-year in December. In contrast, November pay hikes increased by 7.6% year-over-year.
Following the ADP report, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) declined 0.9% while those on the S&P 500 (SPX) fell 0.9%, as of 9:35 a.m. EST, Thursday. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) futures retracted 1.1%.
First published: 7:21AM EST
Stock futures were mixed on Thursday morning as investors tried to remain optimistic about December’s employment data that will be released on Friday.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) remained unchanged while those on the S&P 500 (SPX) inched up 0.08%, as of 7.05 a.m. EST, Thursday. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) futures advanced 0.21%.
The regular trading session of Wednesday was volatile, as traders shuffled through a set of mixed economic data. November’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLTS) report indicated continued strength in the labor market, which is an economic concern at this point. The Federal Reserve has been aiming to slow the job market down for a while, with its interest rate hikes. This is because a desirable reduction in inflation cannot be achieved if wages rise beyond a certain level.
However, investor sentiments were boosted as the ISM manufacturing index revealed a contraction in the U.S. manufacturing sector after 30 months of expansion. The index read 48.4 for December, declining from 49 in November and coming slightly below the market expectation of 48.5. This shows that last year’s series of interest rate hikes could have a desirable impact on this part of the economy.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve’s December meeting minutes that officials continued their hawkish stance, which is nothing new.
Last week’s jobless claims data will be out on Thursday, along with November’s trade deficit. Also, Fed speakers Raphael Bostic and James Bullard are set to make key speeches on Thursday.
However, the most-awaited data this week is the employment data from December, which is set to be released on Friday. This information will be pored over by the Fed in order to prepare for its next FOMC meeting scheduled for February 1. The data will reveal how many payrolls were added, what the unemployment rate was, and whether the hourly wages increased in December.
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