After two consecutive weeks where jobless claims came in lower than expected, today’s number arrived higher than forecasts at 478, 000; 10,000 more than the economists surveyed by Bloomberg and breaking the short lived winning streak for bulls looking for signs of stability.

Traders know that in a period of extreme market volatility, picking a top or bottom is very difficult –in a period of extreme economic volatility the same principal holds true. The trend in job losses has not shown signs of directional change yet.

Andrew Barber
Director