Unemployment in Japan, Evergrande liquidation reaction

Japan's unemployment rate fell in December, according to data Official data.

The unemployment rate fell in the last month of 2023 to 2.4% from the previous month. The reading was 2.5% in October.

The unemployment rate in December was also slightly below the Reuters poll forecast of 2.5%, and the lowest unemployment rate since January 2023.

Another reading showed that the jobs-to-applicants ratio reached 1.27 in December, levels not seen since June 2022.

It was also slightly lower than the Reuters poll forecast of 1.28.

– Shreyashi Sanyal

A selloff in Boeing Co. and a handful of other stocks capped the Dow's gains this month.

The average blue-chip stock is set to end the January trading month, which concludes with the closing bell on Wednesday, up about 1.7%. By comparison, the tech-heavy S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are on track to advance 3.3% and 4.1%, respectively.

Part of those Dow-defining gains are due to Boeing, which is down 21% this month. Stocks fell after a door seal on a 737 Max 9 jet exploded mid-flight.

Walgreens and Intel also fell on the 30-stock index, each down about 13%. Ten Dow Jones members are poised to end the month on a negative note.

These declines somewhat mitigated the gains seen elsewhere. It is worth noting that IBM led the index higher with an increase of more than 14%. Verizon and Merck were the next biggest gainers, advancing about 11% each.

-Alex Haring

Oil prices fell on Monday as concerns grew about the impact of China's real estate crisis on its economy.

The March West Texas Intermediate crude contract fell $1.01, or 1.29%, to trade at $77 a barrel. The Brent March contract fell 94 cents, or 1.13%, to trade at $82.61.

Crude oil prices fell after a Hong Kong court ordered the liquidation of Evergrande, once China's largest real estate developer. Traders are concerned that China's real estate crisis is affecting its economy and that the slowdown could dampen oil demand this year.

Oil rose more than 1 percent earlier in the session after three American soldiers were killed in a drone attack on a base in Jordan. The United States accused militants allied with Iran of being behind the attack.

“It's a critical inflection point for the Biden administration because we really have to see whether he will have a serious escalatory response to this attack,” RBC Capital Markets' Helima Croft told CNBC's “Worldwide Exchange” on Monday.

-Spencer Kimball

Energy names hurt the S&P 500 in Monday's session.

The general index rose by about 0.1% in morning trading. But it was affected by the decline in energy stocks, as the sector fell 0.7%.

All stocks in the energy sector were trading lower during the session. APA stock was the biggest loser, falling 1.7%.

On the other hand, the consumer discretionary sector was the best performing sector with an advance of 0.3%. Tesla led the sector upwards with gains of more than 2%, and regained some of its gains after falling by more than 13% last week on the back of profits.

-Alex Haring

The US Treasury expects to borrow $760 billion in the first quarter, according to A press release Published Monday afternoon. This is lower than the previous estimate of $815 billion “largely due to expectations of higher net cash flows and a higher start to the cash balance for the quarter,” the statement said.

The lowered estimates appear to have sparked a rally in bonds and stocks. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to an intraday low of nearly 4.07%, while the S&P 500 is now up about 0.7%.

The Treasury will announce more details about its quarterly recovery plans on Wednesday.

-Jesse Pound