The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) both traded in a tight range on Thursday and closed near breakeven.
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Investors spent the day digesting mixed labor market data. Initial jobless claims for the week ended November 29 fell by 27,000 to a three-year low of 216,000 and were below the consensus estimate of 220,000. However, economists said that the data should be taken with a grain of salt because claims data are typically skewed during holiday periods. Furthermore, continuing jobless claims were 1.939 million for the week ended November 22, below the estimate of 1.963 million. The data points signal a continuing trend of employers being slow to both fire and hire workers.
In contrast, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said that U.S. employers announced 71,321 layoffs in November, registering the highest level for the month since 2022. That comes after planned layoffs reached 153,074 in October, the highest monthly total in 22 years.
“Layoff plans fell last month, certainly a positive sign,” said Challenger, Gray & Christmas CRO Andy Challenger. “That said, job cuts in November have risen above 70,000 only twice since 2008: in 2022 and in 2008.”
On Friday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will publish October’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, which was delayed due to the government shutdown. The index will provide the Fed with its last gauge of inflation before the December 9-10 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting as the odds of a 25 bps rate cut remain at an elevated 87% on CME’s FedWatch tool.
The University of Michigan is also set to release its preliminary Index of Consumer Sentiment for December on Friday.
Finally, Nvidia (NVDA) closed in the green, despite U.S. senators proposing the Secure and Feasible Exports Chips Act, which would require the commerce secretary to deny advanced chip export licenses to China for 30 months. On Wednesday, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visited President Trump in Washington, D.C., to discuss export controls, although the details of the meeting are still unclear. “We talked in general about export controls, and I wished him a happy holidays,” Huang said after the meeting.
The S&P 500 (SPX) closed with a 0.11% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) fell by 0.10%.
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