Jobless filings rose last week; continuing claims hit highest since February
Jobless claims increased last week amid Federal Reserve efforts to chill the economy and specifically the labor market.
First-time filings for unemployment advantages totaled 225,000 for the week ended Dec. 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was a rise of 9,000 from the previous week and barely above the 223,000 estimate from Dow Jones.
Longer-term, continuing claims, which run every week behind the headline number, jumped to 1.71 million, a rise of 41,000 to the very best level since early February.
The numbers this time of yr are all the time noisy as a consequence of the vacations. Claims not adjusted for seasonal aspects surged by 23,146, a 9.3% increase.
—Jeff Cox
Stocks making the largest moves premarket
These are the stocks making the largest moves before the bell:
- Tesla – Tesla rallied 4.4% within the premarket after posting its first rise in eight sessions Wednesday, softening the blow to its stock in what is going to still be the worst yr ever for Tesla shares.
- Cal-Maine Foods – Cal-Maine slid 4.9% in premarket trading after its quarterly earnings got here in below Wall Street forecasts. Cal-Maine reported record sales for the quarter.
- Apple – Apple is up 1% in premarket trading after closing Wednesday at a 1-1/2 yr low. Apple is down 29% for 2022.
Try the total list for more Thursday early morning movers.
— Peter Schacknow, Tanaya Macheel
Recent lively ETF takes aim on the booming battery market
Electric vehicle stocks could have cooled in 2022, but the choices for investors to play the trend are continuing to grow with the arrival of the Element EV, Solar & Battery Materials (Lithium, Nickel, Copper, Cobalt) Futures Strategy ETF.
The fund, which is about to start trading on Thursday, carries a management fee of 0.95% and can trade on the NYSE Arca under the ticker “CHRG.” The fund will buy and sell futures and related products on minerals and metals which can be vital for electric vehicles.
Element Funds was co-founded by Goldman Sachs veteran Will McDonough, and the portfolio management team will include fellow co-founders John Raymond and John Calvert from Energy & Minerals Group, a Houston-based private equity firm with $13 billion in assets.
The fund’s lively strategy sets it other than the the KraneShares Electrification Metals Strategy ETF, which launched in October and tracks the Bloomberg Electrification Metals Index. That fund has performed well to this point but has thin trading volume and lower than $30 million in assets under management.
“This shouldn’t be something you possibly can play passively. Battery technology is maturing every day,” McDonough said, adding that the portfolio can be adjusted on a monthly basis.
Along with lithium futures, the fund can even trade in other metals, with an emphasis on copper, said McDonough, who can also be the CEO of Element Funds .
“The demand for copper in any electric vehicle of any kind is over 2x what it’s in a conventional automotive. People wish to talk in regards to the lithium story — that is as much a copper story because it is a lithium story,” McDonough said.
Outside of Goldman Sachs, McDonough’s profession includes stints at Marc Lasry’s Avenue Capital as a wealth manager for skilled athletes, including Tom Brady, and as a blockchain entrepreneur.
— Jesse Pound
European markets slip as caution abounds to finish the yr
European markets retreated on Thursday as caution returned to global stocks, with investors assessing quite a lot of likely headwinds in 2023.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.5% in early trade, with food and beverage stocks shedding 1% to guide losses as just about all sectors and major bourses slid into the red.
The European blue chip index began Thursday’s session down greater than 12% for the yr.
– Elliot Smith
CNBC Pro: Tesla or Rivian? The professionals predict what 2023 will appear to be for the 2 stocks
It has been a tumultuous yr for electric vehicle stocks, and two investor favorites, Tesla and Rivian, have been no exception.
What’s going to the yr ahead appear to be for each stocks? CNBC Pro spoke to analysts and trawled through Wall Street research to search out out.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Weizhen Tan
CNBC Pro: Tech is ‘down but under no circumstances out’ — watch these stocks in 2023, fund manager says
It has been a nasty yr for tech firms, and lots of investors have been wondering when tech stocks will rebound.
Tech fund manager Jeremy Gleeson of AXA Investment Managers told CNBC Pro Talks last week that he still believes within the sector.
He explains why and names the stocks to purchase.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Weizhen Tan
All 11 sectors within the S&P 500 are down for the week and the month
The 11 sectors of the S&P 500 suffered during regular trading on Wednesday, dragged by energy firms.
Notable decliners within the energy sector include EQT, which slumped 7.8%, and APA, which fell about 5.2%. The losses got here alongside falling prices for West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude, in addition to natural gas.
The eleven sectors are limping along because the week begins to wind down. They’re all down for the week, dragged by communication services, which is off by nearly 2.7%. All sectors are also negative for December, with consumer discretionary leading the categories to the downside and off by about 13.3%
Energy is shining for the fourth quarter and the yr, nonetheless. It’s up 19.6% for the ultimate three months of the yr, and up about 56.4% for 2022.
–Darla Mercado, Chris Hayes
Cal-Maine’s latest results show consumers are paying nearly twice as much for a dozen eggs
What does inflation looks like as of late?
Consumers are paying roughly twice as much for a dozen eggs than they were a yr ago, driven partly by greater demand for specialty eggs, in keeping with the latest results from Cal-Maine Foods, the nation’s largest egg producer.
The typical selling price for every dozen of eggs hit $2.71 within the quarter ended November 2022, up from $1.37 the identical quarter the previous yr. That increase has outpaced an increase in feed costs, which have been surging lately.
Supply and demand are propelling the surge in prices.
While bird flu has hurt industry supplies, Cal-Maine has continued to see enormous demand — notably in premium specialty eggs. Conventional egg volumes were actually 2% lower within the quarter, while specialty eggs saw a 24% surge in volumes.
There are a few reasons for this. Conventional egg prices have been increasing a lot that they have been exceeding prices for specialty eggs. Cal-Maine’s average price for conventional eggs in the most recent quarter was $2.88 – greater than 21% higher than the going price of $2.37 for specialty eggs.
So why pay for a standard egg when you possibly can get a cheaper specialty egg? Cal-Maine identified that the phenomenon has been a surprising trend of late: “Conventional egg prices exceeding specialty egg prices has occurred for the past three quarters but is atypical historically.”
Also boosting specialty egg demand – cage-free egg mandates in California and Massachusetts last January, in addition to a trend of “more retailers shifting to selling more cage-free products.”
Shares of Cal-Maine jumped 68% in 2022. Still, the stock was down about 5% in Wednesday prolonged trading.
— Robert Hum, Sarah Min
Stock futures open higher
U.S. stock futures opened higher Wednesday night, as investors head into the ultimate trading days of 2022.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 38 points, or 0.09%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.12% and 0.15%, respectively.
— Sarah Min