On the heels of another record setting day yesterday, investors are digesting gains and looking for a catalyst to keep things moving upward. It appears they might have found that catalyst in a strong ADP employment report. Private job creation surged to almost 300,000, well above analysts projections of 200,000. The ADP report has shown in the past to not necessarily reflect official employment statistics, but the positive news was enough to stem early losses and stocks are hanging in there near unchanged. Near unchanged is not a bad thing after yesterday's rally as one would expect some profit taking today. One lingering concern about a strong employment report is that it may shorten the window of low interest rates. The eventual withdrawal of economic stimulus is a scenario investors don't want to think about. One key piece of data rained on the positive parade. Factory orders fell by half a percent. Gold continued its extended rally while oil is down a small amount. Interest rates are up slightly on the mostly positive news. Any gain today would be a very bullish indicator.
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