Stock Market Update

The S&P 500 futures are up 37 points and are trading 0.7% above fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are up 151 points and are trading 1.0% above fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 307 points and are trading 0.7% above fair value.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending December 28 decreased by 9,000 to 211,000 (Briefing.com consensus 224,000) while continuing jobless claims for the week ending December 21 decreased by 52,000 to 1.844 million.

The key takeaway from the report is the low level of initial claims -- a leading indicator -- as that connotes a situation where employers are reluctant to let employees go, which goes hand-in-hand with an optimistic view of business prospects.