Taken from CNBC’s Daily Open, our international markets newsletter — Subscribe today
After shaking off some of the weakness at the start of the month, markets seemed to be ready to board Santa’s sleigh, and rode into a second straight day of gains this week.
Wednesday’s rally was on the back of surprisingly weak private jobs data, with payrolls processing firm ADP’s November report showing 32,000 job losses, sharply missing the 40,000 gain expected by economists polled by Dow Jones.
This further strengthened investors’ conviction that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut rates in its final meeting of the year on Dec. 9-10.
But before one starts celebrating like Charlie Bucket who has found a golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, remember, what looks like a catalyst for portfolios in the short term can mask economic weakness in the longer term if job losses continue.
