After trading essentially sideways overnight, futures are seeing some pressure this morning on a weak Jobless Claims print. Initial Claims came in at 853k vs 720k exp. (the largest weekly rise since March), with Continuing Claims rising for the first time since the crash, to 5.76MM vs a prior print of 5.53MM. CPI came in hotter than expected at 0.2% vs 0.1% exp. no big surprise there. The silver lining in the jobs print was the total number of Americans on some form of unemployment is now sitting below 20 Million. That's something I guess? This print isn't reflecting some of the latest lockdowns, so things are going to get worse into year end.
The FDA Panel is voting on Pfizer's new Vaccine, so I suspect a well timed headline may show up to save markets. But, absent a stimulus deal, and an improvement in the real economy, stocks could continue to face downward pressure as we approach EOY. A vaccine approval could also serve as a sell-the-news event, along with any "solution" to the heap of systemic problems facing markets. Clearly every rumour has already been bought, so imo markets are priced to perfection, and can only go down from here.
SPY appears poised to gap down to a 364 handle on the open, with the 100 period MA in play around 363.75. I'm keeping an eye on the gap fill from Dec 1st around 362 (just above the 21 day EMA), and the top of the megaphone around 358.50 for signs of support. Absent support at these levels, the bulls could be in real trouble, with a half a dozen gaps waiting to be filled from November's risk binge, and overnight gap parade, sitting just below us.
Stay tuned for live updates throughout the day, and thanks for your time today guys! If you enjoyed today's analysis, please hit the Like button and subscribe to our profile. The information and analysis shared in this post is not financial advice. Always conduct your own analysis and research. Cheers, Michael.