Stock Market Update

Just in, weekly initial jobless claims for the week ending March 15 increased by 2,000 to 223,000 (Briefing.com consensus 220,000). Continuing jobless claims for the week ending March 8 increased by 33,000 to 1.892 million. The March Philadelphia Fed Index decreased to 12.5 (Briefing.com consensus 10.0) from 18.1. The Q4 Current Account Balance showed a narrowing in the deficit to $303.9 billion (Briefing.com consensus -$334.0 billion) from an upwardly revised $310.3 billion (from -$310.9 billion).

The equity futures market, which was already indicating a relatively soft start for the major indices, continues to do so.