(As of 7:15 am PST)
After a wobbly start, US stocks are edging higher in the
last trading day of this holiday shortened week. Investors had plenty of
economic data to digest at the open. Jobless claims for last week fell sharply
from 288,000 to 268,000 – near a 15 year low. For four consecutive weeks,
claims have been below 300,000, a key level that generally indicates a
strengthening labor market. Tomorrow’s non-farm payrolls jobs report will be
even more important to investors in assessing the overall labor market
condition. Although the stock market will be closed Friday, there is still
great anticipation around the jobs number with analysts calling for a healthy
243,000 private sector gain. In other economic news today, the US trade deficit
shrank by a whopping 17% in February as cheaper oil and falling US exports
tightened the trade gap by $7.2 billion to $35.4 billion. A lower trade gap
will help GDP in the first quarter, but falling exports may drag on the economy
and hurt American businesses in the months ahead. Overseas action is mixed today
as Asian markets finished mostly higher while European stocks teetered near the
unchanged line. Oil and gold are cooled off a bit after yesterday’s surge while
the US dollar and treasury prices are lower.
As a reminder, the US stock market will be closed
tomorrow in observance of Good Friday. Have a great Easter weekend and we will
see you back on the blog on Monday!
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