Stocks Hover Near Record Highs on Mixed US Economic News

Economic Indicators - Q3 nonfarm productivity is expected to increase by +4.7%, while unit labor costs are projected to rise by +0.3% [1] - Initial weekly unemployment claims are anticipated to rise by 12,000 to 211,000 [1] - December nonfarm payrolls are expected to grow by +59,000, with the unemployment rate projected to decrease by -0.1 to 4.5% [1] - Average hourly earnings for December are expected to increase by +0.3% month-over-month and +3.6% year-over-year [1] - October housing starts are expected to rise by +1.4% month-over-month to 1.325 million, and building permits are expected to increase by +1.1% month-over-month to 1.350 million [1] - The University of Michigan's January consumer sentiment index is expected to rise by 0.6 points to 53.5 [1] Labor Market - November JOLTS job openings fell by -303,000 to a 14-month low of 7.146 million, below expectations of 7.648 million [2] - December ADP employment change increased by +41,000, which is weaker than the expected +50,000 [2] - MBA mortgage applications rose by +0.3% in the week ending January 2, with the purchase mortgage sub-index down -6.2% and the refinancing sub-index up +7.4% [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 3.5-week high [5] - The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell from a record high due to mixed economic news [5] - The 10-year T-note yield decreased by -2 bp to 4.15% [5] Sector Performance - Cybersecurity stocks are performing well, with Crowdstrike Holdings up more than +4% and Palo Alto Networks up more than +3% [13] - Chip makers and data storage companies are under pressure, with Western Digital down more than -7% [11] - Mining stocks are declining, with silver down more than -5% and copper down more than -3% [12] International Markets - Overseas stock markets are mixed, with the Euro Stoxx 50 down by -0.16% and China's Shanghai Composite up by +0.05% [7] - European government bond yields are decreasing, with the 10-year German bund yield dropping to a 1-month low of 2.792% [9]