The Bear Traps Report founder and editor Larry McDonald argues U.S. in a period where ‘hard assets are going to really dramatically outperform.’
U.S. stocks rose in morning trading despite an unexpected rise in weekly jobless claims.
The Nasdaq Composite rose over 1% after hitting correction territory on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 rose 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tacked on over 131 points or 0.4%.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 35457.07 | +428.42 | +1.22% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 4594.84 | +62.08 | +1.37% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 14604.834725 | +264.58 | +1.84% |
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Weekly jobless claims unexpectedly rose to 286,000 above the 220,000 estimate, continuing claims, which track the total number of unemployed workers collecting benefits, also rose to 1.635 million.
UNITED POSTS $646M LOSS AS OMICRON CASTS SHADOW
In earnings, Travelers shares rose after posting record quarterly profits.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRV | THE TRAVELERS COS. INC. | 168.51 | +8.43 | +5.27% |
| FITB | FIFTH THIRD BANCORP | 48.26 | +0.29 | +0.60% |
| KEY | KEYCORP | 25.60 | +0.01 | +0.04% |
American Airlines is also out with results, posting a loss of $921 million, or $1.42 per share, less than expectations. “Looking forward, our focus in 2022 will be to continue running a reliable airline, returning to profitability, and delivering on our long-term plan to deleverage the balance sheet,” said incoming CEO Robert Isom.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAL | AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC. | 17.30 | -0.01 | -0.07% |
| UAL | UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC. | 44.18 | -0.22 | -0.50% |
| DAL | DELTA AIR LINES INC. | 39.79 | +0.97 | +2.50% |
Separately United Airlines cut its 2022 capacity forecast citing omicron and sees a drop of as much as 18% in the first quarter.
Union Pacific also posted solid results as it shipped more products in the pandemic rebound and over the holidays. Profits jumped nearly 24% while revenue rose to $5.7 billion ahead of the $5.1 billion in the year-ago period.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNP | UNION PACIFIC CORP. | 243.17 | +3.58 | +1.49% |
| CSX | CSX CORP. | 35.80 | +0.56 | +1.57% |
In the afternoon, the spotlight will turn to Netflix.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFLX | NETFLIX INC. | 521.98 | +6.12 | +1.19% |
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In other economic news, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve index of manufacturing activity for eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware rose to a reading of 23.2 up from a one-year low of 15.4 in December. Any reading above zero means that more manufacturers say business conditions are improving rather than worsening.
HOUSING INDUSTRY INSIDER WARNS MARKET ‘LOOKING INTO THE TEETH OF A SUPERSTORM’
The National Association of Realtors is expected to say that sales of previously owned homes slipped 0.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.44 million units in December. That’s down from a 10-month high of 6.46 million in November.
Asian stock markets rose Thursday after China cut interest rates to shore up economic growth and Japan reported a double-digit rise in exports.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 1.1%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 3.4% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index was off 0.1%.
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In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude lost 28 cents to $86.68 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
FOX Business’ Ken Martin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
