Initial Jobless Claims: Survey Says 355k

Initial as well as continuing jobless claims are on tap before the bell this morning, with economists expecting 355 thousand new claims and 3.418 million continuing claims for the week ending on Feb. 25. Prior readings for initial jobless claims were 351 thousand, which represented no change from the week before that. Continuing weekly jobless claims last week read at 3.392 million, which was a decline from 3.444 in the week before, and the lowest level since August of 2008. Investors look closely at jobless claims, as they are believed to be one of the best proxies for the stock market due to a high correlation between the two. Jobless claims are relied upon to confirm other leading indicators of a recovery, in addition to a pick-up in 10-year treasuries, in order for investors to increase their risk. Further trepidation exists amid current bullishness in the markets due to past head fakes from leading indicators last year, when risk was piled on only to have indicators and the market pull back sharply. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the report at 8:30 a.m. EST.