Japan unemployment, evergrande liquidation reaction

Japan's unemployment rate fell in December Official data.

The unemployment rate fell to 2.4% in the last month of 2023 from the previous month. The reading in October was 2.5%.

December's jobless rate was slightly below the Reuters poll forecast of 2.5% and the lowest since January 2023.

Another reading showed the jobs-to-applicants ratio was 1.27 in December, not seen since June 2022.

That was slightly lower than a Reuters poll of 1.28.

– Shreyashi Sanyal

A selloff in Boeing and some other stocks capped gains for the Dow this month.

The blue-chip average is set to end the January trading month, which closes on Wednesday's closing bell, up about 1.7%. By comparison, the broader S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq composite are on pace to advance 3.3% and 4.1%, respectively.

Part of that range for the Dow is due to Boeing, which has fallen 21% this month. A 737 Max 9 door plug flew off in mid-air, sending stocks plummeting.

Walgreens and Intel also dragged down the 30-stock index, each falling roughly 13%. A dozen Dow members are on pace to finish the month lower.

Those dives have somewhat tempered the gains seen elsewhere. Notably, IBM has lifted the index with a rally of over 14%. Verizon and Merck were the next biggest gainers, advancing 11% each.

– Alex Haring

Oil prices fell on Monday as concerns grew about the impact of China's asset crisis on its economy.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for March delivery fell $1.01, or 1.29%, to trade at $77 a barrel. The Brent contract for March delivery was down 94 cents, or 1.13%, at $82.61.

Crude prices fell after a court in Hong Kong ordered the liquidation of Evergrande, once China's biggest property developer. China's asset crisis is weighing on its economy and traders worry that a slowdown could soften demand for oil this year.

Oil prices rose more than 1% in the session after a drone strike on a base in Jordan killed three US soldiers. The US blamed Iran-allied terrorists for the attack.

“This is an important inflection point for the Biden administration because we really have to see if he will respond aggressively to this attack,” Helima Croft with RBC Capital Markets told CNBC's “Global Exchange” on Monday.

– Spencer Kimball

Energy names weighed on the S&P 500 in Monday's session.

The broader index was up 0.1% in morning trade. But that was weighed down by declines in energy stocks, with the sector down 0.7%.

Every energy sector stock traded lower in the session. ABA was the biggest loser, down 1.7%,

On the other hand, Consumer Discretionary was the best performing sector with advances of 0.3%. Tesla led the sector with a gain of more than 2% after a more than 13% decline in revenue last week.

– Alex Haring

The US Treasury Department expects to borrow $760 billion in the first quarter Press release Published on Monday afternoon. That's lower than the previous estimate of $815 billion, “largely due to higher net fund flows and projections of a higher start of the quarter cash balance,” the release said.

Lowered valuations fueled a rally for bonds and stocks. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to an intraday low of 4.07%, while the S&P 500 is now up 0.7%.

The Treasury will announce more details on its quarterly refund plans on Wednesday.

– Jesse Pound