January 5, 2022

Markets:

U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open Wednesday morning to extend a decline in technology shares during the prior trading day. 

Investors Wednesday morning also digested fresh upbeat economic data, as private payroll gains handily exceeded estimates for December. ADP said Wednesday that private sector employers added back 807,000 jobs during the final month of November, nearly doubling expectations as job growth picked up to help alleviate some labor shortages.

In the first few trading days of the new year, investors have piled into cyclical areas of the market, with shares of companies seen as the biggest beneficiaries of a firming economic recovery and rising interest rates outperforming. The energy, financials and industrials sectors outperformed in the S&P 500 on Tuesday, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average composed heavily of cyclical stocks rose by more than 200 points to set an all-time closing high. 

Private sector employers added back far more jobs than anticipated in the final month of 2021, suggesting at least some widespread job vacancies were getting filled across the economy.

Portfolio:

We enter the new trading session holding positions in ASB, MTTR, STRN, UA, and ITRM.  We will be looking to add today with a new trade opportunity so please be on alert.  The excitement for earnings season to begin next week is growing and will provide strong opportunity in this market like we saw back in October. This market is starving for earnings.  This will provide a footing for traders.  Let's have a great session.