Stock Market Update

The stock market is on track for a slightly higher opening this morning as the major averages look to further a two-day win streak.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending November 29 decreased by 27,000 to 191,000 (Briefing.com consensus 220,000) from last week's revised level of 218,000 (from 216,000). This was the first weekly total below 200,000 since January 2024. Continuing jobless claims for the week ending November 22 decreased by 4,000 to 1.939 million from last week's revised level of 1.943 million (from 1.960 million).

The key takeaway from the report is initial claims dropped to their lowest level in nearly two years, which is an encouraging sign about the health of a labor market at a time when visibility remains reduced due to some missing Employment Situation reports from the BLS.