Stock Market Update

Stocks are indicated higher at the open as reduced geopolitical tension supports renewed buy-the-dip interest.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending January 17 were just 200,000 (Briefing.com consensus: 200,000), up 1,000 from the prior week's revised level. Continuing jobless claims for the week ending January 10 were 1.849 million, down 26,000 from the prior week's revised level.

The key takeaway from the report is that the low level of initial jobless claims substantiates the view that the labor market is still operating in a low-firing environment, which is supportive for consumer spending activity and the growth outlook.

Q3 real GDP was revised slightly higher to 4.4% (Briefing.com consensus: 4.3%) from the advance estimate of 4.3%, with an upward revision to exports and investment superseding a slight downward revision to consumer spending. The GDP Deflator was unrevised at 3.8% (Briefing.com consensus: 3.7%).

The key takeaway from the report is that it is a dated and little-changed report, so its market-moving capacity is nil; however, it is a headline reminder that the economy was running on the hotter side of things in the third quarter.