Stocks To Watch – 12/9/2024

Brief Overview

Welcome back to this week’s Stocks to Watch! It looks like our question from last week may have been answered as the Santa Clause Rally seemed to be in full effect last week! Don’t let the endless potential overwhelm you! We have all hands on deck looking for the best of the best to alert to our members. You won’t want to miss out! 

Manufacturing showed some life this week! The ISM index nudged up to 48.4% in November, still below the growth line but better than October’s 46.5%. Construction spending also rose 0.4% in October, proving that the industry’s still got some fight left.

Job openings surprised everyone, hitting 7.7 million in October. That’s a strong sign that the labor market’s still cooking. Over in the car world, November auto sales ticked up to 16.5 million units, showing that people are still splurging on big-ticket items like rides.

The services sector cooled a bit, with the ISM services index sliding to 52.1% in November from 56.0% in October. On the flip side, factory orders rose 0.2% in October, hinting at some manufacturing momentum. Fed Chair Jerome Powell chimed in too, saying they’re staying cautious about interest rates. Translation: don’t expect cuts anytime soon.

The trade deficit narrowed to $73.8 billion in October, down from $83.7 billion in September. Less importing helped close the gap. Jobless claims ticked up slightly to 224,000, but nothing alarming—it’s all part of the usual labor market shuffle.

The November jobs report was a banger! The economy added 227,000 jobs, blowing past expectations. The unemployment rate ticked up a hair to 4.2%, but wages grew 0.4% in November, holding steady at a solid 4.0% year-over-year. Investors loved the strong report, and the stock market hit fresh record highs to close out the week.

Last week had a little bit of everything: manufacturing’s showing slow but steady improvement, job growth is on fire, and even the trade deficit is tightening up. Services cooled off a bit, but overall, the economy’s holding its own. Let’s see if this momentum can carry us through December!