Unemployment rate fell to a pre-pandemic low of 3.5% in December from 3.6% in November.
The U.S. markets ended the last week on a positive note, with the benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq snapping the four-week losing streak. The Friday jobs report reaffirmed the strength in the U.S. labour market as December payrolls expanded more than expected.
However, the moderation in wage gains and contraction in services activity supported investors’ hopes of the Fed going easy on its rate hike policy.
Top stories from last week
- Biogen (BIIB) received U.S. FDA’s approval for its Alzheimer’s drug developed in collaboration with Eisai Co. Biogen’s shares surged 2.8% on Friday.
- Costco Wholesale (COST) jumped over 7% on Friday after reporting a 7.3% rise in comparable sales in December.
- Amazon.com (AMZN) said it will cut over 18,000 jobs, a bigger number than the e-retailer initially said it would eliminate last year.
- Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) tumbled 47% through the last week after Reuters reported that the home goods retailer was preparing to seek bankruptcy protection in the coming weeks.
The week ahead
- Earnings this week: Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), UnitedHealth Group (UNH), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), BlackRock (BLK), Citigroup (C), Bank of New York Mellon (BK), and Delta Air Lines (DAL).
- As major banks kick off the year’s first earnings season, the spotlight will be on credit card delinquencies, the level of bad loan provision, and the read on the mortgage industry.
- With monthly traffic reports due, the airline sector will also be in focus this week.
- Economic data this week: CPI report on Jan 12. Analysts expect inflation to rise 6.5% on a year-over-year basis in December, in comparison to November’s 7.1% increase.
Stock watchlist for this week
*Consensus rating and average price target as per Tipranks data.