*He pointed to the “repricing of higher valuation stocks” in recent days and continued selling Wednesday in the technology sector. “At some point, though, I think tech investors will be going in to defend some of these names, but we are not at that point yet,” he said.*
*Over the past two trading sessions, the S&P 500 Value Index _ has outperformed the S&P 500 Growth Index _ by 4.31 percentage points, marking the largest two-day outperformance since Nov. 10, 2020.*
*One positive economic indicator on Wednesday was the ADP National Employment report, which showed private payrolls increased by 807,000 jobs last month, more than double what economists polled by Reuters had forecast.*
*Report on private payrolls showed that 807,000 jobs were created in December, according to the ADP National Employment Report, higher than forecast for a gain of 375,000, based on average estimates from economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.*
The report comes ahead of the Labor Department's more comprehensive and closely watched nonfarm payrollsdata for December on Friday.
Jobs, jobs, jobs. Today through Friday, Wall Street will be obsessed with jobs reports and their likely influence of inflation and interest rates.
*Strategists use the ADP report to get an early read on the Labor Department’s report on private payrolls, which are scheduled to be released in about 48 hours. The private-sector report recently hasn’t been an accurate predictor of the Friday jobs report.*
However, the ADP report is watched because investors will be more attuned to the health of the jobs market during the omicron variant surge. The labor market and the outlook for inflation are two factors that policy makers at the Fed will be observing closely as they set up for the new year.
*Separately, the final reading of the IHS Markit services purchasing managers index for December came in at 57.6, down from 58 in November but mostly in line from an earlier estimate.*
*Citing an optimistic corporate earnings forecast, market analysts at Citi raised their 2022 S&P 500 index price target to 5,100, a 7% gain from year-end 2021.*
*"We remain moderately constructive on the broader market outlook, while acknowledging valuation headwinds as the Fed moves down a more hawkish path," the Citi analysts wrote before the Fed minutes were released.*
*Citi's target was toward the higher end of other banks, with Morgan Stanley at 4,400 and Goldman Sachs also at 5,100. *
Oil prices rose modestly on Wednesday, extending gains even after OPEC+ producers stuck to an agreed output target rise for February and U.S. fuel inventories surged due to sliding demand as COVID-19 cases spiked.
U.S. crude rose 0.09% to $77.06 per barrel and Brent was at $80.08, up 0.1% on the day.
*The dollar fell on Wednesday but pared losses to a 0.091% dip after the Fed minutes were released.*
*In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell about 3.5% to $44,201 -- still significantly below its most recent all-time high of $69,000 reached in November.*
*Goldman Sachs said in a research note on Tuesday that bitcoin would likely take market share away from gold as a "store of value" as digital assets become more widely adopted and that its price could hit $100,000 in five years.*
Earlier in the session, the tech rout spread to Asia, with a gauge of Chinese names listed in Hong Kong at a six-year low. However, Europe was mostly spared, with the Stoxx Europe 600 drifting to a record.
*Which companies were in focus?*
The highflying automotive sector was in the spotlight, after rallies for *Tesla and Ford Motor Co.* on successive days. *General Motors* unveiled an all-electric Chevy Silverado on Wednesday, while Sony SONY rallied in Tokyo trade after setting up an electric vehicle unit. But shares of *GM closed down 4.6%, Ford fell 2.7% after a big run-up on Tuesday and Tesla’s stock shed 5.4%* as Wall Street swooned in late afternoon trade.
Shares of *Beyond Meat* were in focus after its said a plant-based fried chicken product is coming to U.S. KFC locations next week. Its stock fell 5.1%.
By: via @AlliesFin Serve Stock Market
