Stock markets will kick off 2024 in a hurry and back to business. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will post the critical December jobs report. Speculators aggressively bought the most popular stocks like Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), NVidia (NVDA), and Alphabet (GOOGL) on expectations the Fed would cut interest rates this year. Those four stocks are sure to trade at high volumes today.
The market requires a terrible job report this week. Without it, the Fed will not cut rates. It will do nothing, which would unwind the S&P 500 (SPY) gain of 2023, hurt bond prices, and raise Treasury bond yields.
Economists expect the job to show a 168,000 increase in job additions last month. Unemployment should increase to 3.8%, based on data compiled by Bloomberg.
On the corporate earnings calendar, beat-up pharmacy stock Walgreen Boots Alliance (WBA) will post quarterly results. WBA stock trades at a 7.1 times forward price-to-earnings ratio. Its dividend yield of 7.49% risks getting slashed.
WBA stock bottomed at around $20 and closed at $26.11. Markets are pinning their hopes on new CEO Tim Wentworth fixing the company.
Constellation Brands (STZ) will post results, along with Cal-Maine Foods (CALM). The food services firm paid a nearly $!8 billion fine. A jury found it guilty of egg price fixing.
