There can be little argument that the jobs report will be the primary focus for traders in the early going on this Friday morning.

The Labor Department reported that Nonfarm Payrolls increased by 235,000 in February, which was above the consensus estimate of 190,000. The Unemployment Rate came in at 4.7%, which was down from January’s rate of 4.8% and in line with expectations. Average hourly earnings increased by 0.2% last month and are up a healthy 2.8% over the last year. January’s job totals were revised higher to 238K from 227K, meaning that the economy has created 473K jobs so far in 2017 and 628K over the last three months.

While markets appear to have priced in a rate hike at next week’s meeting of the FOMC, today’s jobs numbers will likely seal the deal. The question, of course is if rates will continue to climb above yesterday’s high water mark of 2.605% on the 10-year – a level that some believe will signal the beginning of a bear market in bonds.

We should also note that oil will remain a primary focus once the numbers from the labor department have been digested as crude’s latest move is becoming rude again.

We are also watching the junk bond market here as these bonds tend to be a harbinger of things to come for stocks. And with the junk indices in a free fall over the last 7 days thanks to the combo of rising rates and falling oil, this remains something to pay attention to.

Looking ahead to the open on Wall Street, stock futures are currently pointing to a positive open.

Thought For The Day:

“I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.” -Abe Lincoln

Current Market Drivers

We strive to identify the driving forces behind the market action on a daily basis. The thinking is that if we can both identify and understand why stocks are doing what they are doing on a short-term basis; we are not likely to be surprised/blind-sided by a big move. Listed below are what we believe to be the driving forces of the current market (Listed in order of importance).