Markets Take a Breather Thursday; JBHT Mixed in Q4

Market Performance - Major indexes took a breather after yesterday's significant gains, with the Dow down -0.16%, the S&P 500 down -0.12%, and the Nasdaq down -0.89% [1] - The small-cap Russell 2000 was the only index to gain, up +0.40% [1] Economic Indicators - Weekly Jobless Claims and Retail Sales remained tame, while Imports and Exports saw a slight increase [2] - The Philly Fed manufacturing index showed its first significant improvement in over three years [2] - Business Inventories for November increased by +0.1%, in line with expectations [3] - The Homebuilder Confidence Index for January came in at 47, the highest since April of last year [3] Bond Yields - The 10-year yield cooled to +4.615%, down from +4.763% on Tuesday, the highest in 15 months [4] - The 2-year yield settled at +4.238%, between September's +3.548% and last April's +5.046% [4] Company Performance - J B Hunt missed Q4 earnings estimates by $0 10, reporting $1 53 per share, despite revenues meeting the $3 15 billion consensus [5] - The company's Intermodal business improvements were offset by declines in Revenue per Load and Dedicated Services [5] - Shares of J B Hunt dropped by -1% in late trading [5] Upcoming Economic Data - Housing Starts and Building Permits for December are expected to show modest gains and slight declines, respectively [7] - Industrial Production is expected to swing to +0 2% from -0 1%, while Capacity Utilization is expected to rise to +77 0% from +76 8% [8]