US Jobless Claims Jump, Market Cautious Ahead Of NFPs
$DIA, $SPY, $QQQ, $VXX
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits jumped last week, and below a mark associated with a strong labor market.
Another report Thursday showed announced job cuts by US-based employers fell in March for a 2nd month running
Labor market strength has not been accompanied by significant wage growth, making it unlikely the US Fed will raise interest rates at its April or June meetings. The Fed is cautious about Key international issues.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 276,000 for the week ended 26 March, the US Labor Department said. The prior week’s claims were unrevised. Economists polled forecast claims remaining unchanged at 265,000 for the latest week.
A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors influencing last week’s claims data and no states had been estimated.
The 4-wk MA of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out W-W volatility, rose 3,500 to 263,250 last week.
US Treasury prices edged up on the data, while the USD extended losses.
According to a survey of economists, NFPs (nonfarm payrolls) probably increased by 205,000 this month after rising by 242,000 in February. The unemployment rate is forecast unchanged at an 8-year low of 4.9%.
In a separate report Challenger, Gray & Christmas said U.S.-based employers announced 48,207 jobs
Through Q-1 of Y 2016, employers announced 184,920 job cuts, + 31.8% from Q-4 of Y 2015, with the energy sector accounting for most of the layoffs. There were also job losses in the retail and computer sectors.
The financial markets are cautious in here.
Thursday, US major stock market indexes finished at: DJIA -31.57 at 17685.09, NAS Comp +0.57 at 4869.85, S&P 500 -4.19 at 2059.74
Volume: Trade was above average with 940-M/shares exchanged on the NYSE
- NAS Comp -2.8% YTD
- Russell 2000 -1.9% YTD
- S&P 500 +0.8% YTD
- DJIA +1.5% YTD
| HeffX-LTN Analysis for DIA: | Overall | Short | Intermediate | Long |
| Bullish (0.33) | Bullish (0.41) | Bullish (0.43) | Neutral (0.14) |
| HeffX-LTN Analysis for SPY: | Overall | Short | Intermediate | Long |
| Neutral (0.23) | Neutral (0.21) | Bullish (0.25) | Neutral (0.22) |
| HeffX-LTN Analysis for QQQ: | Overall | Short | Intermediate | Long |
| Bullish (0.39) | Very Bullish (0.58) | Neutral (0.21) | Bullish (0.39) |
| HeffX-LTN Analysis for VXX: | Overall | Short | Intermediate | Long |
| Bearish (-0.27) | Bearish (-0.39) | Bearish (-0.38) | Neutral (-0.0 |
Stay tuned…
HeffX-LTN
Paul Ebeling
The post US Jobless Claims Jump, Market Cautious Ahead Of NFPs appeared first on Live Trading News.