Unit labor costs fell while productivity surged in Q3, report shows
Labor costs fell more than previously estimated as productivity showed higher gains, the Labor Department reported Wednesday in revised estimates for the third quarter
Unit labor costs, a measure of wages to output, fell 1.2% in the July-through-September period, more than the initial -0.8% estimate last month and the -0.9% Dow Jones forecast.
Productivity, or output per hour, revved higher by 5.2% for the same period, compared to the 4.7% initial estimate in November and the 4.9% Dow Jones expectation.
—Jeff Cox
Stocks making the biggest moves premarket
These are some of the companies making headlines in premarket trading:
- Shopify — The e-commerce platform dipped more than 2% in premarket trading following the company’s investor day. To be sure, analysts on Wall Street were somewhat positive following the event, with Citi’s Tyler Radke labeling the investor day as ” half a victory lap.” Other analysts, including Barclays’ Trevor Young, think “shares may consolidate a bit here” due to the robust bullish sentiment on the stock.
- Asana – Shares of the work management software company plummeted more than 14% before the bell. Asana posted better-than-expected quarterly results and upbeat guidance, but management warned of ongoing macroeconomic headwinds. Billings for the period also fell short of Wall Street’s estimates.
- PayPal — Shares fell 1% in premarket trading after Bank of America downgraded PayPal to neutral from buy. Bank of America said payments company was due for a “transition year” under new CEO Alex Chriss.
Read the full list here.
— Brian Evans
Private payrolls grew less than expected in November
Private payrolls increased by less than economists anticipated in November, another sign that the labor market is cooling.
Companies added just 103,000 workers for the month, the ADP reported Wednesday. That’s below the downwardly revised 106,000 in October and the 128,000 consensus forecast for the month from economists polled by Dow Jones.
It’s the latest release in a series of job market data expected over the course of the week. On Tuesday, the Labor Department reported that job openings slid to 8.73 million in October, the lowest level since 2021. Investors will watch for data on jobless claims, nonfarm payrolls, the unemployment rate and wages later in the week.
— Alex Harring, Jeff Cox
Apple hits $3 trillion market cap
Apple shares were little changed before the bell after rising 2% during Tuesday’s session to finish above a $3 trillion market capitalization for the first time since August.
The iPhone maker officially crossed $3 trillion for the first time in June and briefly touched that level in 2022.
Shares of Apple have rallied nearly 49% since the start of the year. The company’s often regarded by Wall Street for its strong cash flows and viewed by many as a safe haven in the market amid periods of uncertainty.
Apple shares year to date
— Samantha Subin, Kif Leswing
Mortgage refinancing demand pops as rates slide
The mortgage refinancing market is getting a boost as rates retreat.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances fell to 7.17% from 7.37%, per the Mortgage Bankers Association. That marks to lowest level since August.
Applications for home-loan refinancing jumped as consumers eyed the sliding rates. In fact, application volume was 14% higher than the prior week and 10% higher than the same week in 2022.
— Diana Olick, Alex Harring
Citi staying overweight U.S. stocks into year-end
Strategist Dirk Willer noted Citi is staying overweight U.S. stocks heading into the end of 2023, even as the bank sees a recession in the new year.
“The market has been pricing a soft landing for the US, though Citi is predicting a recession in mid-2024. However, it is too early to reduce our equity overweight, as the market is not that forward looking,” Willer said.
“At this stage, we think equities still have some runway left into year end and early next year, before the upcoming recession should lead to a pull-back,” he said in a note.
— Fred Imbert
Nikkei 225 leads gains in Asia, powered by commercial services stocks
Japan’s Nikkei 225 led gains in Asia, powered mainly by gains in commercial services and utilities’ stocks.
The index climbed 1.9% on Wednesday, with global printing company Toppan Holdings, the biggest gainer, up 10.67%.
Electric utility Tokyo Electric Power Company, chip equipment supplier Lasertec and conglomerate Sony Group were among the other big advancers.
Australia’s third-quarter gross domestic product expands more than expected
Australia’s gross domestic product expanded 2.1% year-on-year in the third quarter, beating the 1.8% growth expected by economists polled by Reuters and matching the rate seen in the second quarter.
The country’s statistics bureau said on a seasonally adjusted, quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP rose 0.2%, driven by increased government consumption and capital investment during the quarter.
However, it also noted that household consumption and GDP growth rates have slowed quarter on quarter due to sustained cost-of-living pressures and higher interest rates.
— Lim Hui Jie
Sentiment at large Japanese firms improves in December: Reuters Tankan survey
Business sentiment at large Japanese firms improved in December, according to the monthly Reuters Tankan survey.
Reuters reported that “sentiment improved for a second straight month as auto sector continued to recover from last year’s semiconductor shortage and supply chain woes.”
The sentiment index for manufacturers stood at +12, compared to +6 in November. Separately, the poll also showed the service sector index at +26, down from +27 in November.
A positive figure indicates optimists outnumber pessimists in the sector, and vice versa.
The Bank of Japan’s quarterly tankan survey is due next on Dec. 13.
— Lim Hui Jie
Never mind the 2023 rally. Investors are still crowding into cash, Bank of America says
Stocks are boasting solid year-to-date gains, but investors are happy to hide out in their money market funds, according to Bank of America.
“Even after a 28% rally on the SPX from its October 2022 low and an 11% rally from the index’s late October 2023 low, investors still love cash,” wrote Stephen Suttmeier, chief equity technical strategist, in a Monday report.
S&P 500 ytd
While the S&P 500 is up nearly 19% on the year, total money market fund assets grew to $5.84 trillion as of Nov. 29, according to the Investment Company Institute, marking a record high. That is up from $4.49 trillion in October 2022, a 27% increase.
Retail investors piled into the funds, with assets climbing more than 44% from October 2022, Suttmeier said.
Who could blame them? After all, the Crane 100 Money Fund Index has an annualized 7-day yield of 5.2%.
–Darla Mercado, Michael Bloom
An especially volatile 2024 will force investors to be “more nimble,” says Wolfe Research’s Chris Senyek
An uncertain macroeconomic backdrop combined with the 2024 presidential elections means that stocks will be especially volatile next year, according to Chris Senyek.
Such a market environment will force investors to react faster than they were expected to in 2023, said the chief investment strategist at Wolfe Research.
“You have to be more nimble. I don’t think it’s going to be a buy and hold-type year for any investor,” he said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.”
In the next year, Senyek said he’d rather own the groups of stocks that have lagged so far this year. His favorite sector is consumer staples, while he also finds healthcare, utilities and energy attractive.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Stocks making the biggest moves after the bell: Box, MongoDB and more
These are the stocks moving the most in extended hours trading:
- MongoDB — The database stock shed 5%, despite MongoDB beating analyst expectations in its third-quarter earnings.
- Box — The cloud company plummeted 11% after reporting fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings of 36 cents per share on revenue of $261.5 million. This was lower than FactSet’s analyst expectations of 38 cents per share on $262.4 million of revenue.
- Dave & Buster’s — The stock slipped 4% after the company posted third-quarter revenue of $466.9 million, lower than lower than analysts’ forecasts for $473 million, per LSEG.
Read the full list of stocks moving here.
— Lisa Kailai Han
