The Market On Thursday

Good morning. It is cold and clear here in Upstate NY. I was out walking earlier and regretted not using my face mask. I came home with an uncharacteristically rosy face masking my usual glowing gray pallor. Hey, its a great day!

At 8:30 a.m. futures are fluffy, the dollar is mixed, oil is down, and unemployment claims just came in at 409,000 - up from last week but still trending down.

Investors are waiting for Friday's government employment data. Tomorrow is the big day. Think of it like a wedding ceremony.

Otherwise, we are riding a wave. The DOW is inching up to 12,000. Who knew?

CNN: Stocks set to open higher

"So far, there's been no data suggesting that what we saw at the end of 2010 -- which was seemingly outright, organic economic growth -- has in any way stalled in 2011..."


Oil for February delivery slipped 27 cents to $90.03 a barrel.