Jobless claims rose last week; The ongoing claims hit the highest level since February
Jobless claims rose last week amid efforts by the US Federal Reserve to cool the economy, and particularly the job market.
First-time jobless claims totaled 225,000 for the week ended December 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was up 9,000 from the previous week and slightly above the Dow Jones estimate of 223,000.
Longer-term ongoing claims, a week behind the headline, jumped to 1.71 million, up from 41,000 to the highest since early February.
The numbers are always loud at this time of year due to the holidays. Non-seasonally adjusted claims increased by 23,146, an increase of 9.3%.
– Jeff Cox
Stocks making the biggest moves premarket
These are the stocks making the biggest moves before the bell:
- Tesla – Tesla rallied 4.4% in the pre-market after posting its first gain in eight sessions on Wednesday, mitigating the blow to its stock in what remains its worst year on record for Tesla stock will.
- Cal-Maine Foods – Cal-Maine slipped 4.9% in premarket trading after its quarterly earnings came in below Wall Street forecasts. Cal-Maine reported record sales for the quarter.
- APPLE – Apple is up 1% in premarket trading after closing at a 1-1/2 year low on Wednesday. Apple is down 29% for 2022.
Check out the full list for more movers on Thursday.
– Peter Schacknow, Tanaya Macheel
New active ETF targets the booming battery market
EV stocks may have cooled off in 2022, but opportunities for investors to take advantage of the trend continue to grow with the launch of the Element EV, Solar & Battery Materials (Lithium, Nickel, Copper, Cobalt) Futures Strategy ETF.
The fund, which is due to start trading on Thursday, carries a 0.95% management fee and trades on the NYSE Arca under the ticker “CHRG”. The Fund will buy and sell futures and related products on minerals and metals critical to electric vehicles.
Element Funds was co-founded by Goldman Sachs veteran Will McDonough and the portfolio management team includes co-founders John Raymond and John Calvert of Energy & Minerals Group, a $13 billion Houston-based private equity firm.
The fund’s active strategy differentiates it from the KraneShares Electrification Metals Strategy ETF, which launched in October and tracks the Bloomberg Electrification Metals Index. This fund has performed well so far, but has low trading volume and less than $30 million in assets under management.
“It’s not something you can play passively. Battery technology matures daily,” McDonough said, adding that the portfolio is adjusted monthly.
In addition to lithium futures, the fund will also trade in other metals, with a focus on copper, said McDonough, who is also CEO of Element Funds.
“The demand for copper in any electric vehicle of any kind is more than double that in a conventional car. People want to talk about the lithium story — this is both a copper story and a lithium story,” McDonough said.
Outside of Goldman Sachs, McDonough’s career includes stints at Marc Lasrys Avenue Capital as an asset manager for professional athletes, including Tom Brady, and as a blockchain entrepreneur.
— Jesse Pound
European markets slide as year-end caution prevails
European markets fell on Thursday as caution returned to global equities and investors assessed a range of likely headwinds in 2023.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 The index was down 0.5% in early trade, with food and beverage stocks down 1%, leading to losses as nearly all sectors and major exchanges slipped into the red.
The European blue-chip index started Thursday down more than 12% for the year.
-Elliot Smith
CNBC Pro: Tesla or Rivian? The pros predict what 2023 will be like for the two stocks
It’s been a turbulent year for electric vehicle stocks and two investor favorites, Tesla and Rivianwere no exception.
What will the coming year look like for both stocks? CNBC Pro spoke to analysts and scoured Wall Street research to find out.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Wheat Tan
CNBC Pro: Tech is “down but by no means out” — watch these stocks in 2023, fund manager says
It’s been a bad year for tech companies, and many investors have wondered when tech stocks will recover.
Tech fund manager Jeremy Gleeson of AXA Investment Managers told CNBC Pro Talks last week that he still believes in the sector.
He explains why and names the stocks to buy.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Wheat Tan
All 11 sectors in the S&P 500 are down for the week and month
The 11 sectors of the S&P 500 suffered from the drag from energy companies during Wednesday’s regular trading session.
Notable detractors in the energy sector include EQT, which fell 7.8%, and APA, which fell about 5.2%. The losses coincided with falling West Texas Intermediate and Brent Crude and natural gas prices.
The eleven sectors lag as the week draws to a close. They are all down for the week, weighed down by communications services, which are down nearly 2.7%. All sectors are also negative for December, with consumer discretionary leading the categories lower, down about 13.3%.
However, energy shines for the fourth quarter and year. It increased by 19.6% in the last three months of the year and by about 56.4% in 2022.
– Darla Mercado, Chris Hayes
The latest results from Cal-Maine show consumers are paying almost twice as much for a dozen eggs
What does inflation look like these days?
Consumers are paying about twice as much for a dozen eggs as they did a year ago, in part due to greater demand for specialty eggs, according to the latest results from Cal Maine Foodsthe nation’s largest egg producer.
The average retail price for each dozen eggs reached $2.71 in the quarter ended November 2022, up from $1.37 in the same quarter last year. This increase exceeded the increase in feed costs, which have risen sharply in recent years.
Supply and demand drive the price increase.
While bird flu has disrupted industry supplies, Cal-Maine continues to see tremendous demand — particularly for high-quality specialty eggs. In fact, regular eggs were down 2% for the quarter, while specialty eggs were up 24% in volume.
There are mutliple reasons for this. Conventional egg prices have risen so much that they are exceeding specialty egg prices. Cal-Maine’s average price for conventional eggs last quarter was $2.88 — more than 21% higher than the current price of $2.37 for specialty eggs.
So why pay for a regular egg when you can get a cheaper specialty egg? Cal-Maine noted that the phenomenon has been a surprising trend of late: “Conventional egg prices exceeding specialty egg prices have occurred in the last three quarters but are historically atypical.”
Demand for specialty eggs is also being boosted — regulations for cage-free eggs in California and Massachusetts last January, and a trend that “more retailers are moving to sell more cage-free products.”
Cal-Maine stock is up 68% in 2022. Still, the stock fell about 5% in extended trading on Wednesday.
– Robert Hum, Sarah Min
Stock futures open higher
U.S. stock futures opened higher Wednesday night as investors head into the final trading days of 2022.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 38 points, or 0.09%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.12% and 0.15%, respectively.
– Sarah Min
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