Dow -28.89; NASDAQ +1.34; S & P + .10
10 Year Treasury 4.26%, dropping .04% in yield
Damn thin day in the market today. Thin volume and little important news. In addition, about half the people on the floor of the exchange are on vacation right now. In short, call this one in. The daily charts for the Diamonds and Spyders (DIA and SPY; tracking stocks for the Dow and S & P 500, respectively) were practically strait lines. Although the QQQQ's (which track the NASDAQ) showed a bit more volatility, they closed .07% down from the open.
The Treasury market rallied in thin trading on the PMI number (see below). A decrease in manufacturing activity lowers the threat of inflation, which benefits bonds. What is interesting is interest rates have not moved substantially in the last month. They were 4.34 last month and today they are 4.24. It appears that bullish and bearish market forces are equally forceful right now.
Although the dollar was virtually unchanged verses the Euro, it dropped .62% verses the Yen. There has been a rumor floating around the news sources that the Bank of Japan will intervene in the currency markets, but obviously they didn't today. In addition, one market participant noted that technical levels may induce buying at the beginning of the year. However, I am also seeing headlines such as "When in Doubt, Dollar Route", so there is at least a mixed sense of the markets right now.
The Department of Labor reported that initial unemployment claims dropped 5000 last week. The 4-week average -- which most economists consider a better barometer of the labor market -- dropped by 6000. 6 states reported an increase of more than 1000 while 5 reported a decrease of more than 1000. The jobless nature of this recovery continues onward (see comments below). But, we've turned the corner....several times....no really, we've turned the corner...it's behind us now...
The Conference Board's Help-Wanted Advertising Index - a key barometer of America's job market - dipped one point in November. The Index now stands at 36. It was 38 one year ago.
In the last three months, help-wanted advertising declined in six of the nine regions across the U.S. Largest declines occurred in the East North Central (-7.5%) and Mountain (-7.2%) regions. Help-wanted advertising increased in the Pacific (3.4%), East South Central (1.2%) and Middle Atlantic (0.8%) regions.
Says Conference Board Economist Ken Goldstein: "Job growth continues to be sluggish, despite periodic reports that some companies are planning to add workers in the months ahead," says Conference Board Economist Ken Goldstein, a specialist in the labor markets. "This is reflected in the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index, which has declined in five of the last six months, and by dips in consumer confidence. The widely-awaited turnaround in job growth has yet to arrive."
The Conference Board surveys help-wanted advertising volume in 51 major newspapers across the country every month. Because ad volume has proven to be sensitive to labor market conditions, this measure provides a gage of change in the local, regional and national supply of jobs.