Stock Market Update

The stock market remains poised for a lower opening following a flurry of economic data releases this morning. 

Initial claims for the week ending February 14 decreased by 23,000 to 206,000 (Briefing.com consensus: 225,000). There has been a suggestion that seasonal factors are the basis for the low reading, but even if that isn't the case, the level of initial jobless claims is still quite low. Continuing jobless claims for the week ending February 7 increased by 17,000 to 1.869 million.

The key takeaway from the report is its confirmatory signal that the labor market is still operating in a low-firing environment.

The trade deficit widened to $70.3 billion in December (Briefing.com consensus: -$55.8 billion) from an upwardly revised $53.0 billion deficit (from -$56.8 billion) in November. The wider gap was the result of exports being $5.0 billion less than November exports and imports being $12.3 billion more than November imports.

The key takeaway from the report is that the wider deficit will detract from Q4 GDP growth estimates.

The Philadelphia Fed Index increased to 16.3 in February (Briefing.com consensus: 8.5) from 12.6 in January. The dividing line between expansion and contraction for this series is 0.0, so the February reading suggests there was an accelerating pace of expansion for the manufacturing sector in the Philadelphia Fed region.

The mixed element in the report is that it featured a deceleration in new orders and shipments and a contraction in the index for the number of employees.