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Our top 10 things to watch Thursday, Dec. 26
— This newsletter was written by the Investing Club’s portfolio analyst Zev Fima.
1. Wall Street’s holiday week rally is taking a breather Thursday. The Dow, S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq were all on pace to open the session lower after healthy gains on Monday and Tuesday. The market was closed Wednesday for Christmas. As a reminder, trading volumes are likely to be low the next two days, so be careful and don’t chase big moves higher.
2. Initial jobless claims totaled 219,000 in the week ended Dec. 21, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s below the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 224,000. It also is down 1,000 from the prior report. However, continuing claims for unemployment insurance rose to 1.91 million, the highest since November 2021.
3. Oil rose slightly Thursday. International benchmark Brent crude ticked up to around $74 a barrel, while U.S. benchmark WTI added about 0.6% to trade at roughly $70.50 a barrel. Hopes of additional stimulus in China is one factor driving the move. Traders are awaiting the release of the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly crude inventories report, which is due out at a later-than-normal 1 p.m. ET Friday.
