The December jobs report and details from the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting of 2022 will headline a short opening week of 2023 for investors as Wall Street limps into a new year after its worst run since the Global Financial Crisis.
U.S. stock and bond markets will be closed on Monday, January 2, in observance of New Year’s Day.
Economic data will pick up when traders return to a four-day trading week after a quiet end of December.
The Labor Department will publish its jobs report for December at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday morning, and economists expect a payroll gain of 200,000 jobs last month, per Bloomberg consensus estimates.
Outside of the headline jobs data, three additional updates on the labor market will be on the docket for investors this week, with the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (or JOLTS report), ADP’s private payrolls data, and the Challenger Job Cuts report all due out.
Alongside the flurry of labor market releases, the Fed will release a readout of its December policy meeting, which investors will pore over for clues on the central bank's next move. Last month, the Fed raised interest rates by 50 basis points, bringing total increases to its benchmark policy rate to 4.25% in 2022.
Global and U.S. stocks closed out their worst year since 2008 on Friday. Aggressive central bank actions to quell historic inflation and war in Ukraine battered financial markets and ended a three-year winning streak for the major averages.
The S&P 500 tumbled 19.4% in 2022, its largest calendar-year decline since a 38% drop in 2008 during the Great Recession. The Dow fell a comparably modest 9%, holding up better than its index peers.
The Nasdaq Composite wiped out one third of its value, dropping 33% and closing out its first four-quarter decline since the 2000 dot-com bubble as rising interest rates wreaked havoc on technology stocks.
Even as investors turn the page on 2022, much of Wall Street expects more pain remains ahead.
Consensus strategist forecasts see a volatile first half of 2023 and an easier second half. Still, stocks are expected to be little changed — or post marginal gains at best — with the Federal Reserve projected to keep rates high for a sustained period of time.
"Amid the backdrop of the hawkish Fed’s aggressive rate-rising moves leading into 2023, there is an exceedingly greater investor concern about the likelihood of a harder-than-desired landing that would push the U.S. and global economies into a recession," AXS Investments CEO Greg Bassuk said in an emailed note.
"Investors remain hyper-focused on employment, labor and related economic data, as the ongoing strength of wages could hamper corporate profit margins and cripple earnings across industries and sectors."
The labor market has cooled in recent months though demand for workers remains high, even as Fed officials has pressed on with their most combative monetary-tightening campaign in decades.
Despite policymakers delivering 425 basis points worth of rate hikes in 2022, the U.S. labor market has averted any substantial hit, while other facets of the economy such as housing and manufacturing have shown signs of a slowdown.
While Wall Street’s consensus estimate for nonfarm payroll growth last month stands at 200,000, this would market a slowdown from the 263,000 jobs added to the economy in November when predictions were roughly the same. The unemployment rate also stands at a low of 3.7%, while the labor force participation rate remains little changed.
“The lag effect of Fed tightening throughout 2022 will slow economic activity in 2023, a natural outcome of fighting inflation,” Treasury Partners chief investment officer Richard Saperstein said in a note, though adding: “The labor market will be the last to turn, forcing the Fed to maintain elevated rates through 2023.”
Minutes from the FOMC's December meeting are likely to show the thinking behind the central bank’s “slower but higher” regime. Fed Chair Powell has signaled that he and colleagues will switch to smaller rate hikes to assess their toll but may ultimately lift the terminal rate higher.
December’s median forecast showed a new interest rate peak of 5%-5.25%, up from 4.5%-4.75% in September. The Fed’s 0.50% hike, meanwhile, marked a downshift from a steady round of 0.75% hikes.
The FOMC is set to convene January 31-February 1 and is expected to deliver its first rate increase of 2023 and eighth of the current hiking cycle at the conclusion of discussions.
Elsewhere on the economic calendar this week, readings on durable goods orders and PMI data will offer investors the latest snapshots of industrial and manufacturing activity.
The earnings calendar remains light during the off-season, with a few notable names including Conagra (CAG), Constellation Brands (STZ), and Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) set to report.
—
Monday: Markets closed for New Year's Day.
Tuesday: S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, December Final (46.2 expected, 46.2 during prior month); Construction Spending, month-over-month, November (-0.4% expected, -0.3% during prior month)
Wednesday: MBA Mortgage Applications, week ended Dec. 30 (0.9% during prior week); ISM Employment, December (48.4 during prior month); ISM Manufacturing, December (48.5 expected, 49.0 during prior month); ISM New Orders, December (47.2 during prior month); ISM Prices Paid, December (42.9 expected, 43.0 during prior month); JOLTS Job Openings, November (10.100 million expected, 10.334 during prior month); FOMC Meeting Minutes, Dec. 14; Wards Total Vehicle Sales, December (13.70 million, 14.14 during prior month)
Thursday: Challenger Job Cuts, year-over-year, December (416.5% during prior month); ADP Employment Change, December (140,000 expected, 127,000 during prior month); Trade Balance, November (-$74.5 billion expected, -$78.2 billion during prior month); Initial Jobless Claims, week ended Dec. 31 (230,000 expected, 225,000 during prior week); Continuing Claims, week ended Dec. 24 (1.710 million during prior week); S&P Global U.S. Services PMI, December Final (44.4 expected, 44.4 during prior month); S&P Global U.S. Composite PMI, December Final (44.6 during prior month)
Friday: Two-Month Payroll Net Revision, December (-23,000 prior); Change in Nonfarm Payrolls, December (200,000 expected, 263,000 during prior month); Change in Private Payrolls, December (167,000 expected, 221,000 during prior month); Change in Manufacturing Payrolls, December (6,000 expected, 14,000 during prior month); Unemployment Rate, December (3.7% expected, 3.7% during prior month); Average Hourly Earnings, month-over-month, December (0.4% expected, 0.6% during prior month); Average Hourly Earnings, year-over-year, December (5.0% expected, 5.1% prior month); Average Weekly Hours All Employees, December (34.4 expected, 34.4 during prior month); Labor Force Participation Rate, December (62.2% expected, 62.1% during prior month); Underemployment Rate, December (6.7% during prior month); ISM Services Index, December (55.0 expected, 56.5 during prior month); ISM Services Employment, December (51.5 during prior month); ISM Services Prices Paid, December (70.0 during prior month); ISM Services New Orders, December (56.0 during prior month); Factory Orders, November (-0.8% expected, 1.0% during prior month); Factory Orders Excluding Transportation, November (0.8% during prior month); Durable Goods Orders, November Final (-2.1% during prior month); Durables Excluding Transportation, November Final (0.2% during prior month); Non-defense Capital Goods Orders Excluding aircraft, November Final (0.2% during prior month); Non-defense Capital Goods Shipments Excluding Aircraft, November Final (-0.1% during prior month)
—
Monday: Markets closed for New Year's Day.
Tuesday: No notable reports scheduled for release.
Wednesday: UniFirst Corporation (UNF)
Thursday: AngioDynamics (ANGO), Conagra (CAG), Constellation Brands (STZ), Helen of Troy (HELE), Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA)
Friday: No notable reports scheduled for release.
—
Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc
Click here for the latest trending stock tickers of the Yahoo Finance platform
Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Download the Yahoo Finance app for Apple or Android
Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and YouTube
(Bloomberg) — China’s economy ended the year in a major slump as business and consumer spending plunged in December, with more disruption likely in the first few months of the year as Covid infections surge across the country.Most Read from BloombergElon Musk Becomes First Person Ever to Lose $200 BillionXi Warns of Tough Covid Fight, Acknowledges Divisions in ChinaUkraine Latest: Strike Kills 63 Russian Troops in Occupied TownGemini’s Cameron Winklevoss Slams Crypto Exec Barry Silbert Over Fro
Curious on how to buy battered tech stocks? Here's a quick tip. More on that, and what else to watch in business on Monday, January 2, 2023.
Tesla Inc on Monday reported record production and deliveries for fourth-quarter electric vehicles, but it missed Wall Street estimates, burdened by logistics problems, slowing demand, rising interest rates and fears of recession. The world's most valuable automaker delivered 405,278 vehicles in the last three months of the year, compared with Wall Street expectations of 431,117 vehicles, according to Refinitiv data. Tesla delivered 388,131 Model 3 compact sedans and Model Y sports utility vehicles (SUVs) compared with 17,147 Model X and Model S luxury cars.
New Year's Day falls on a Sunday. Here's what that means for U.S. stock-market trading hours.
Interest rates are on the rise. The Federal Reserve approved its first interest rate hike since late 2018 on Wednesday — and there are likely six rises coming this year. While it's conventional wisdom that bond yields move opposite interest … Continue reading → The post 4 Moves to Make in Your Portfolio as Interest Rates Climb appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.
It was a great year for oil companies such as Exxon Chevron Shell and BP But the giants of European energy are still trading at significantly lower valuations than their American counterparts, which means they could be buying opportunities. All the major oil companies benefited from the surge in oil prices as the world emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia invaded Ukraine. Unlike the broader market, share prices have surged.
U.S. stock-market futures inched higher Monday, suggesting slight gains ahead of the first trading day of 2023.
Delta, the best managed of the U.S. airlines, is poised to experience significant earnings growth over the next two years.
Cathie Wood's flagship Ark Innovation ETF dropped 67% last year, and is down 80% from its February 2021 peak.
Whether you're a saver or a financial advisor who wants to give clients a leg up, these 8 tips are essential for financial planning.
Keep it simple, stupid.
STORY: Some people in China's key cities braved the cold and a spike in COVID-19 infections to return to regular life on Monday (January 2). In Beijing, people gathered to sled or ice skate on a frozen lake in the city on Sunday (January 1) nearly a month after China dropped stringent "zero COVID" measures to adopt a strategy of living with the virus. However, a wave of infections has since erupted nationwide. State broadcaster CCTV reported on Monday that frontline medical staff are working around the clock to treat COVID-19 patients. In this hospital in the eastern city of Nanjing, patients have flooded the intensive care unit with 80 percent of its patients aged 65 and over, many of them with underlying health conditions. That's according to doctors quoted as saying by CCTV. China's biggest holiday, Lunar New Year, begins on Jan 21 this year. Many tourist attractions are opening up after shutting last August due to a COVID-19 outbreak. According to Chinese news outlet Caixin on Sunday, citing researchers in the Chinese commercial hub, infections in cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Chongqing are close to ending. But they added infections will peak in other urban areas in the latter half of January. Monday's single new COVID death – flat from the previous day – does not match the experience of other countries after they re-opened.The official death toll of just under 5,300 since the pandemic began compares with more than 1 million in the United States.China has said it only counts deaths of COVID patients caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure as being related to COVID. The relatively low death count is also inconsistent with rising demand reported by funeral parlors in several cities.According to British-based health data firm Airfinity, about 9,000 people are probably dying each day from COVID in China.Authorities around the world are imposing or considering curbs on travelers from China. The United States, Britain, France and India are among those asking for a negative COVID-19 test.
2022 was a frustrating year for investors as the S&P 500 has had its biggest decline since 2008 when the global financial crisis wracked markets. This time around, rising interest rates and inflation torpedoed stocks, pressuring both valuations and business performance, especially in areas like retail, tech, and transportation. Unlike most of the tech sector, Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB) has posted strong results through 2022, benefiting from the recovery in the travel sector.
Dozens of drivers were left stranded by the flooding.
Some people in the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan braved the cold and a rise in COVID-19 infections to return to regular activity on Monday, raising the prospect of a boost to the economy as more recover from infections. Among those who gathered to sled or ice skate on a frozen lake in the capital's Shichahai Lake Park, some were upbeat about the opening-up after China dropped stringent "zero-COVID" measures on Dec. 7 to adopt a strategy of living with the virus. The switch followed protests over the policy championed by President Xi Jinping, marking the strongest show of public defiance in his decade-old presidency and coinciding with grim growth figures for the country's $17 trillion economy.
The era of ultralow bond yields, mild inflation and accommodative Fed policy has ended, money managers say, likely recalibrating the market’s winners and losers for years to come.
Dow Jones futures kick off the 2023 stock market after a "stay away" year. Q4 Tesla deliveries hit a record, but missed lowered views again.
Inflation punished bondholders in 2022, but they are still betting on much lower rates than the Fed is forecasting, risking a repeat.
GE HealthCare shares start trading this week, but investors are cautious about prospects for the spinoff of the power business.
At least one thing is clear from my 'report card' for 2022 — it's easier to find dogs in a bear market than long ideas.