Daily Insights
Markets opened higher today. US equities opened in the green this morning following Thursday’s mixed close. Market participants are hopeful about progress on a stimulus deal after both Senate and House leaders met yesterday. Increasing COVID-19 numbers are still on investor’s minds.
- Asian equities finished their trading day mostly higher.
- European stocks are modestly higher through midday trading.
Jobs growth positive but slowing. The US economy added 245,000 jobs in November according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, missing Bloomberg survey estimates of 460,000 as COVID-19 cases rose sharply. The unemployment rate also declined, falling slightly to 6.7%. We take a closer look at the state of the US labor market in today’s LPL Research blog.
Technical update. Stocks were little changed Thursday as the energy sector led once again. Energy is the top performing sector so far in Q4, gaining 26%. Oil prices’ recent breakout above $44 per barrel gives a slight upward technical bias toward prices, after a neutral trend for the past six months.
COVID-19 news. New daily cases in the United States reached a high of more than 210,000 on Thursday, about 8% above the previous high. New hospitalizations have exceeded 5,000 for three straight days after averaging roughly 3,150 during November (source: COVID Tracking Project).
- Pfizer scaled back its December vaccine production target by half and plans to ship 50 million doses by year-end. Pfizer expects to ship 1 billion doses in 2021.
- Bloomberg reported a GlaxoSmithKline-backed vaccine showed promise in an early trial.
LPL Research in the Media
Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick was featured on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” discussing three of the most surprising market stats of the year. Watch the video here.
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