Stock Market Update

The S&P 500 futures are up 85 points and are trading 1.7 % above fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are up 430 points and are trading 2.2% above fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 502 points and are trading 1.2% above fair value.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending September 14 decreased by 12,000 to 219,000 (Briefing.com consensus 232,000). Continuing jobless claims for the week ending September 7 decreased by 14,000 to 1.829 million.

The key takeaway from the report is that there is nothing in the low initial claims reading that, as Fed Chair Powell might agree, suggests the likelihood of a recession, or downturn in the economy, is elevated.

The Philadelphia Fed Index for September was a bit weaker than expected at 1.7 (Briefing.com consensus 3.0), but that was fine because it was up nicely from the -7.0 reading for August and also signified an expansion in manufacturing activity, clearing the expansion/contraction demarcation line of 0.0.