Stock Market Update

The S&P 500 futures are up 45 points and are trading 0.7% above fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are up 145 points and are trading 0.7% above fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 335 points and are trading 0.7% above fair value.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending December 14 decreased 22,000 to 220,000 (Briefing.com consensus 237,000). Continuing jobless claims for the week ending December 7 decreased 5,000 to 1.874 million.

The key takeaway from the report is the low level of initial jobless claims, which connotes a reluctance on the part of employers to layoff staff.

The third estimate for Q3 GDP included an upward revision to 3.1% (Briefing.com consensus 2.8%) from the second estimate of 2.8%. The GDP Deflator was left unchanged at 1.9%, as expected.

The key takeaway from the report is that it is dated (we're less than two weeks away from the end of the fourth quarter); however, the report speaks to the enduring -- and surprising -- strength of the U.S. economy despite the Fed raising rates 12 times between March 2022 and July 2023.

The December Philadelphia Fed Index checked in at -16.4 (Briefing.com consensus 3.0) following a -5.5 reading for November. The line between expansion and contraction for this series is 0.0.

The key takeaway from the report is that manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia Fed region contracted in December at a faster pace than the prior month.