Investors will finally get a deluge of data to give them direction in which to take the broader marker. Jobless claims and a manufacturing activity index are on tap this morning. If the bulls carry the day, this will be the seventh consecutive day of gains on the Dow. Currently Dow futures are up 27 points to 13,157. Nasdaq 100 futures are up 8.25 to 2,711. The S&P 500 futures are rounding out the pre-market gains, up 3.25 to 1,392.
The labor market continues to show signs of strengthening. Weekly jobless claims dropped 14k to 351k. This matches a four year low. Last week’s numbers were revised upwards to 365k, accounting for the sizable drop in the number. Still a ways to go, but at the very least the trajectory will make the election cycle very interesting.
Traders are beginning to wonder how much steam the market has left. Most of the major indexes have notched multi-year highs, with no discernible pull-backs. The dollar has started to strengthen again on the back of recent Fed comments about the prospect of QE3 in the near-term. The statement earlier this week pretty much killed expectations that it was around the corner. [Read more...]
