It’s all about the jobs report
today. It was a stellar economic report
easily topping analyst estimates. The
economy created 288,000 jobs last month, confirming the strong ADP private jobs
report that we saw earlier in the week.
The unemployment rate also fell from 6.3 to 6.1%. These are the best numbers we have seen in a
long time and the stock market is up solidly as a result. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has topped
17,000 for the first time ever. Adding
fuel to the fire was a report that showed exports increasing and balance of
payments deficit shrinking, more good news for the economy. The ISM Services report, a key indicator of
future activity was down, but only slightly, still showing expansion. The only negative of today’s terrific
newsfeed is the fact that economic stimulus and low interest rates might be at
risk sooner than had been expected. Gold
is down about 1% this morning, with oil on the downside about 1/2 %. What looked to be a mundane week for the
stock market, with many traders on vacation, has turned into a nice upward
surprise.
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