After dropping more than 100 points in early trading Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
Europe-America tug-of-war
We did see some more positive unemployment data released yesterday. The ADP monthly hiring report indicated that payrolls increased by 325,000 in December, beating the forecast of 175,000. In a separate report, applications for jobless benefits in the last week of December dropped to 372,000, lower than analysts had been expecting.
But Europe continues to weigh down any advances domestically. Investors are still concerned about European debt, specifically European banks' ability to raise capital, as the euro fell under $1.28.
Today's big nonfarm payroll report from the Labor Department will help shed some more light on state of the domestic economy. According to Bloomberg, analysts are expecting an increase of 150,000 payroll jobs last month and for the unemployment rate to increase slightly to 8.7%. Pay attention to this one, since it's sure to help drive the markets one way or the other on Friday.
A winner and a loser
Bank of America
The biggest loser of the Dow yesterday was Boeing
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