Jobs Report Boost Stocks

Hello traders everywhere. A better-than-expected jobs report has given life to a rather dull week for stocks. The U.S. economy added 228,000 jobs last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists polled by Reuters expected a gain of 200,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%.

Average hourly earnings, a closely watched component of the report, rose 0.2% for November and 2.5% for the year. Economists expected a monthly increase of 0.3% or 2.7% for the year.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet next week, and with the strong jobs numbers and a growing U.S. economy expect the Fed to stay on track and announce an interest rate hike on Wednesday.

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The other big news today is Bitcoin, which will begin futures trading on the CBOE Sunday, Dec. 10th. At 5 pm EST using the symbol (XBT). Bitcoin has had a strong week heading into futures trading with a gain of 45% on the week, before a sell-off of 13% today, but it has backed off the lows of the session to only be down 5% this afternoon. Continue reading "Jobs Report Boost Stocks"

Bank Stocks Lead The Way

Hello traders everywhere. Traders have apparently decided that an old standby is where they want to invest vs. the hottest sector of 2017. That old standby, the big banks.

I opened MarketClub's Top Stocks list this morning after the DOW and S&P 500 opened significantly higher to find that Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was sitting at the top. In fact, three of the top 5 were big banks. It's a far cry from the tech sector that has been all the rage until recently.

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This change in sentiment is primarily due to tax reform. On Saturday the Senate approved their version of the tax bill in a narrow 51-49 vote after a lot of work on the hill. Once the Senate and House of Representatives reconcile their respective versions of the legislation, the resulting bill could cut corporate tax rates to 20% from 35%.

The GOP, however, still needs to overcome future obstacles for the Senate and the House to craft a joint bill, which will then be presented to President Donald Trump. Republicans hope a deal will be achieved by Christmas.

Key levels to watch next week: Continue reading "Bank Stocks Lead The Way"

Stocks Fall On Lackluster Earnings

Hello traders everywhere. The U.S. stock market is posting its most significant decline in 10 weeks after a batch of lackluster earnings reported today. Turmoil over President Trump’s tax reform bill has retaken center stage giving traders reason to take pause.

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Some of the notable earnings today are: Continue reading "Stocks Fall On Lackluster Earnings"