Stock Market Update

The stock market is on track for a modestly lower opening amid a busy morning of economic data releases.

Q3 productivity increased 4.9% in the third quarter (Briefing.com consensus: 2.5%) following an upwardly revised 4.1% (from 3.3%) in the second quarter. Unit labor costs decreased 1.9% (Briefing.com consensus: 0.8%) following a downwardly revised 2.9% decline (from 1.0%) in the second quarter.

The key takeaway from the report is that it is the golden ticket for the economy (and the Fed, per chance), as it reflects strong growth without labor cost inflation.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending January 3 increased by 8,000 to 208,000 (Briefing.com consensus: 217,000). Continuing jobless claims for the week ending December 27 increased by 56,000 to 1.914 million.

The key takeaway from the report is that initial claims are quite low to support a view that consumer spending should hold up; however, continuing claims remain high enough to support a view that the Fed will worry enough about a softening in the labor market (i.e., weak hiring activity) such that it remains inclined to pursue easier monetary policy.

The U.S. trade deficit in October narrowed sharply to $29.4 billion (Briefing.com consensus: -$61.3 billion) from an upwardly revised deficit of $48.1 billion (from -$59.6 billion) in September. The improvement resulted from exports being $7.8 billion more than September exports and imports being $11.0 billion less than September imports.

The key takeaway from the report is that the headline deficit number is the lowest since June 2009. A residual takeaway is that the improvement clearly has something to do with the introduction of higher tariff rates that have detracted from import demand.