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DJIA Futures: +70 (+0.2%)

SPX Futures: +17 (+0.4%)

NASDAQ Futures: +86 (+0.5%)

Good morning friends!

Futures are higher as new data shows labor costs falling.

Let’s get right to it!

Private Job Growth Slows

The U.S. private sector added fewer jobs than expected in November. 

Payroll firm ADP reported private employers hired 103,000 workers last month vs 128,000 expected.

Trade, transportation and utilities added 55,000 jobs, education and health services added 44,000, and other services added 15,000. 

The leisure and hospitality sector lost 7,000 jobs in November, manufacturing lost 15,000, and construction lost 4,000.

October’s private job growth was also revised lower to 106,000.

Pay increased 5.6% from a year ago which ADP says was the smallest gain since September 2021.  

The official November jobs report will be released Friday morning and is expected to show the U.S. economy added 190,000 jobs last month with the unemployment rate unchanged at 3.9%. 

Q3 Productivity Revised Higher

U.S. worker productivity surged in the third quarter. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ revised Q3 productivity jumped to a 5.2% annual rate from 4.7% originally. 

That is the fastest pace since Q3 2020 and pre-pandemic is the fastest since Q4 2009.

Output was raised to 6.1% from 5.9% while hours worked was revised lower to 0.9% from 1.1%. 

Unit labor costs dropped 1.2% annually vs the original 0.8% decrease. 

Productivity has increased 2.4% in 2023, following the 1.2% gain in Q2. 

That marked the first two consecutive quarters of productivity growth since early 2021.

Refinance Demand Jumps

Lower mortgage rates led to a surge in refinancing demand last week. 

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported refinance applications jumped 14% weekly and were up 10% from a year ago. 

But purchase applications slipped 0.3% weekly and 17% year over year. 

The average 30-year fixed contract rate fell to 7.17% from 7.37%, the lowest level since August. 

It was the second consecutive annual increase in refinance demand since late 2021. 

Rates have continued to move lower this week with Mortgage News Daily showing the average 30-year fixed around 7.08%.

Apple Closes Above $3 Trillion Market Cap

Apple (AAPL) shares are up 0.3% ahead of the open after closing above a $3 trillion market cap on Tuesday. 

It was the first time the stock has hit that milestone since August. 

AAPL shares are up 48% in 2023 and hit an all-time high back in July. 

The company remains the most valuable publicly traded company in the U.S.

In Case You Missed It

  • Job openings dropped to the lowest level in more than 2 years in October. The Labor Department’s job openings and labor turnover survey showed there were 8.73 million available jobs vs 9.4 million expected. That was down by 617,000 or 6.6% from September, and the lowest since March 2021. The ratio of openings to available workers fell to 1.3 to 1.
  • Activity in the U.S. services sector picked up more than expected in November. The ISM services PMI rose nearly one point to 52.7% last month vs 52.4% expected. Readings above 50% indicate expansion in the sector. The new orders index was unchanged at 55.5%, the prices paid index fell slightly to 58.3%, and the employment index improved to 50.7% from 50.2%.

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