Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Economic Journal - Wednesday, 1/7/2015



(As of 7:00 am PST)
 
US stocks opened higher to start today’s session, with the S&P500 and Nasdaq looking to snap a five day losing streak.  A better than expected reading of the ADP employment report had traders optimistic early. According to the report, private sector employers added 241,000 jobs in December, much better than expected and accelerating from November’s job gains. Other economic data showed the US trade deficit shrinking in November to an 11-month low, due to cheaper oil prices and the lowest amount of oil imports since 1994. Investors are also gearing up for the release of the latest FOMC minutes which are due out later this afternoon.  The market will be looking for any hints from the Fed on plans for future rate hikes.  In overseas action, Asian markets finished the day mostly higher while European indexes are also higher as low inflation data spurred the notion that the ECB may look to initiate its quantitative easing program by the end of the month. Gold is lower while oil prices are inching higher but still below $50 per barrel. Interest rates are higher as money flowed from bonds into stocks in the early going.

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