Stocks Supported by Lower Bond Yields

Economic Indicators - The Dec ISM services index is expected to decline by -0.3 to 52.3 [1] - Nov JOLTS job openings are projected to increase by +9,000 to 7.679 million [1] - Oct factory orders are anticipated to decrease by -1.1% month-over-month [1] - Q3 nonfarm productivity is expected to rise by +4.7%, while unit labor costs are forecasted to increase by +0.3% [1] - Initial weekly unemployment claims are expected to rise by 12,000 to 211,000 [1] - Dec nonfarm payrolls are projected to increase by +59,000, with the unemployment rate expected to drop by -0.1 to 4.5% [1] - Dec average hourly earnings are expected to rise by +0.3% month-over-month and +3.6% year-over-year [1] - Oct housing starts are expected to increase by +1.4% month-over-month to 1.325 million, and building permits are expected to rise by +1.1% month-over-month to 1.350 million [1] - The University of Michigan's Jan consumer sentiment index is expected to increase by 0.6 points to 53.5 [1] Employment Data - The US Dec ADP employment change increased by +41,000, which is below the expected +50,000 [2] - The US MBA mortgage applications rose by +0.3% in the week ended January 2, with the purchase mortgage sub-index down -6.2% and the refinancing mortgage sub-index up +7.4% [2] - The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage decreased by -7 basis points to 6.25% from 6.32% in the prior week [2] Stock Market Performance - Stock indexes are mostly higher, with the S&P 500 reaching a new all-time high and the Nasdaq 100 hitting a 1-week high [4] - The S&P 500 Index is up +0.13%, while the Dow Jones Industrials Index is down -0.10% and the Nasdaq 100 Index is up +0.18% [5] - March E-mini S&P futures are up +0.10%, and March E-mini Nasdaq futures are up +0.19% [5] - The markets are pricing in an 18% chance of a -25 basis point rate cut at the FOMC's next meeting on January 27-28 [5] Bond Market - The 10-year T-note yield is down -4.5 basis points to 4.128% [7] - European government bond yields are declining, with the 10-year German bund yield dropping to a 1-month low of 2.792% [8] - The 10-year UK gilt yield fell to a 1.75-month low of 4.400% [8] Company-Specific Movements - Chip makers and data storage companies are under pressure, with Western Digital down more than -8% [10] - Mining stocks are declining, with silver down more than -4% and copper down more than -1% [12] - StoneCo Ltd is down more than -7% following the announcement of CEO resignation [13] - Monte Rosa Therapeutics is up more than +44% after announcing positive interim data from a clinical study [14] - Ventyx Biosciences is up more than +37% amid acquisition talks with Eli Lilly & Co. [15] - Amgen is up more than +3% after an upgrade from UBS [16]