Investing.com – U.S. Initial Jobless claims were 198,000 for the week ending December 25, a drop of 8,000 from the prior week. The Department of Labor revised the previous week’s figure up 1,000. The 4-week moving average dropped to 199,250, the lowest level since October 25th, 1969.
This comes amidst a hot job market and labor shortages in the U.S., part of the late pandemic economic climate. With the Federal Reserve pivoting to a more hawkish stance in their December meeting, there’s nothing in this report to alter their acceleration of tapering and the 3 mooted rate hikes for 2022.
U.S. stock markets took the news in stride, with indices pointing towards a higher open. Dow Jones Futures were up .15%, as were S&P 500 Futures and the Nasdaq 100 Futures. This comes after a holiday week of record highs and quiet trading.
