Thursday ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So, a week after the Fed FINALLY cut rates, we get the news that initial unemployment claims fell by 4,000 to 218,000, beating the consensus forecast of an increase of 3,000 to 225,000.

On the other hand, continuing claims rose by 13,000 to 1.834.

Yeah, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯:

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits dropped to a four-month low last week, suggesting that the labor market remained fairly healthy.

The upbeat outlook on the economy was underscored by other data on Thursday showing corporate profits increased at a more robust pace than initially thought in the second quarter.

………

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 4,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 218,000 for the week ended Sept. 21, the lowest level since mid-May, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 225,000 claims. Unadjusted claims decreased 5,957 to 180,878 last week.

Though the labor market has lost momentum amid declining job openings and a step-down in hiring, layoffs have remained low.

………

The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, increased 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.834 million during the week ending Sept. 14, the claims report showed.

The so-called continuing claims have dropped from more than 2-1/2-year highs touched in July, attributed to policy changes in Minnesota that allowed non-teaching staff to file for unemployment aid during the summer school holidays.

The other economic news released today was generally positive, with increases in durable goods orders and a favorable revision to GDP:

………

Separate data published simultaneously on Thursday showed monthly durable goods orders were stronger than expected, and gross domestic product grew faster in 2022 and 2023 than previously reported. US Treasury yields rose after the releases while S&P 500 futures and the dollar were little changed.

I have no clue as to what is going on here.