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- š¤ Markets Hit Snooze Button as Wall Street Waits for Labor Stats Reckoning
š¤ Markets Hit Snooze Button as Wall Street Waits for Labor Stats Reckoning
And boy, did that jobs data have something to say....
Jason Paloma
December 16, 2025 ā¢ Estimated Reading Time: 15 minutes
š Market Vibes
If you were hoping for fireworks to kick off this Tuesday, the markets decided to serve you lukewarm oatmeal instead. The market basically treaded water as traders collectively held their breath ahead of the delayed November jobs report.
And boy, did that jobs data have something to say. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy added a measly 64,000 jobs in November while shedding 105,000 in October (thanks, government shutdown data delay). The unemployment rate? It climbed to 4.6%, marking its highest level since September 2021. For context, that's the economic equivalent of your favorite restaurant running out of your go-to order - not catastrophic, but definitely not what you wanted to hear.
Healthcare once again played hero, adding 46,000 jobs and single-handedly accounting for more than 70% of November's gains, reports CNBC. Construction chipped in 28,000, while transportation and warehousing got hit with 18,000 layoffs. The labor market is giving serious "low hiring, low firing" energy right now.
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š¤ Tech Stocks Continue Their Identity Crisis
AI darlings kept acting like they forgot how to read the room. Broadcom extended its pain parade with another 5.6% drop, Oracle slid 2.7%, and the broader tech sector continued its month-long existential crisis. The culprit? Ongoing anxiety about debt-fueled AI spending and whether all these billions being thrown at chips and data centers will actually, you know, make money.
Nvidia, however, decided to be that one friend who shows up to the disaster with snacks - gaining approximately 1% as CEO Jensen Huang reminded everyone that global AI demand is "skyrocketing," according to Trading Economics. Cool, cool, cool. Just don't look at the PHLX Semiconductor Index, which is still nursing wounds from last week's 5% faceplant.
The VIX - Wall Street's favorite anxiety meter - crept up to around 16.52, suggesting markets are feeling about as chill as someone waiting for their dental appointment.
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š Bitcoin Dips Below $87K
Crypto bros are not having a good time right now. Bitcoin tumbled to around $86,900, marking a 3.3% drop and extending a brutal December slide that's seen the king of crypto fall more than 30% from its October peak near $126,000.
The Fear & Greed Index for crypto? A lovely reading of "11" - which translates to "Extreme Fear" in human-speak. Long-term holders increased their selling by over 130% in just two weeks, offloading roughly 269,000 BTC. When the smart money starts heading for the exits, it's worth paying attention.
Bitcoin is now dancing dangerously close to the 2-Year Simple Moving Average at $82,800 - a critical long-term support level. Market observers note that if it breaks below that and closes the month there, some analysts are eyeing a potential 15% drop to around $73,300. Yikes.
Adding insult to injury, China tightened rules on domestic Bitcoin mining, forcing around 400,000 miners offline in December and pushing the network hashrate down 8%. Meanwhile, Japan's expected rate hike later this week could trigger another wave of volatility, according to multiple crypto news sources.
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š Gold Holds Near Record Territory Despite Tuesday Dip
Gold futures opened at $4,334 per ounce on Tuesday, just a hair below Monday's close of $4,335. The yellow metal has been flirting with all-time highs hit back in October, currently sitting comfortably above $4,280 even as it pulled back slightly ahead of the jobs data.
The precious metal remains up more than 60% year-to-date, on track for its strongest annual gain since 1979. That's not a typo - we're talking about returns not seen since disco was still cool. Market observers note that central banks keep gobbling up gold like it's going out of style, ETF inflows remain robust, and there's a noticeable shift by investors away from sovereign bonds and currencies.
The metal continues benefiting from expectations of additional Federal Reserve rate cuts, though inflation concerns and debt worries have pushed the 10-year Treasury yield up to 4.19%, adding some complexity to the picture. Prospects of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal have dampened some safe-haven demand, but overall momentum remains bullish.
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The Hidden "AI Royalty" Play
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š Fed Watch: Rate Cut Odds Plummet for January
Fed officials kept their rate-cutting scissors holstered last week with another quarter-point cut, bringing rates down to a range of 3.5% to 3.75%. But here's the kicker - markets are now pricing in only a 24% chance of another cut in January, basically unchanged from Monday despite the weak jobs data.
Two Fed officials who voted against last week's cut explicitly stated that inflation remains too elevated and that waiting for additional data would have been "more prudent." Translation: They're not exactly rushing to make borrowing cheaper anytime soon.
The jobs report showed average hourly earnings rose just 0.1% for the month (economists expected 0.3%), with annual wage growth at 3.5% - the smallest yearly gain since May 2021. That's actually good news for the inflation-fighting side of the Fed's mandate, but the unemployment jump to 4.6% is making the employment side of their dual mandate sweat a bit.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs noted the Fed is "unlikely to put much weight on today's report given data disruptions" from the government shutdown. December's employment data, due in early January, will likely be the real deciding factor for the Fed's next move.
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The recent government shutdown proved one thingā¦ Itās more important than ever to tune out of the noise and zero in on whatās actually moving the market. And while most traders are reacting to headlines, history shows the market is quietly setting up for another rip up in the next few months. And missing this rally because of the noise can cost you.
Thatās why our partners at the New Money Crew ā Graham Lindman, Lance Ippolito, and Nate Tucci ā use their decades of experience in the markets to show traders like you what really matters in todayās market. Every day, they track the top 3-5 stocks based on scanning historical data in real time and send the #1 trade from that hit list directly to their inner circle. Tap here to get todayās scans and the #1 trade setup.
š„ Sector Spotlight: Healthcare Carries the Weight (Again)
For anyone keeping score at home, healthcare has become the Atlas of the U.S. jobs market, shouldering the burden month after month. November's 46,000 healthcare jobs represented over 72% of total job gains, according to the BLS report. At this rate, we might need to rename the jobs report the "Healthcare Report (Plus Some Other Stuff)."
November's Consumer Price Index is due later this weekā¦ If you thought this week was data-heavy, buckle up - it's only Tuesday.
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What Wall Street does when they're about to lose
The trading game is so rigged in favor of Wall Street, it's ridiculous.
Take what happened with Apple recentlyā¦ The "geniuses" on Wall Street piled into a massive options position at the $220 strike. But as the stock ticked closer, they had no choice but to flood the market with about 2.6 billion dollars worth of buy orders ā fast. However, before the move printed, I was able to flag down the buy signal ahead of time and get in on a trade that handed me a 70% gain. What's crazy is that this signal was buried in reams of complex options data most traders couldnāt read.
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š¬ Bottom Line
Tuesday's trading kicked off with markets playing it safe, waiting for economic breadcrumbs that might hint at where we're heading in 2026. The jobs data delivered a mixed bag - weak enough to concern the optimists but not catastrophic enough to panic the pessimists. Bitcoin's having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad month, while gold continues its victory lap around record highs.
Tech stocks are still figuring out if AI spending is genius or madness, the Fed's playing hard to get with rate cuts, and healthcare keeps proving it's the only sector that knows how to create jobs consistently. With CPI data Thursday and the final trading days of 2025 ticking away, market observers expect volatility to stick around like that holiday guest who doesn't know when to leave.
Markets might be treading water, but underneath the surface, there's plenty of drama brewing. Stay sharp, stay informed, and remember - in markets like these, patience is often valued by many market participants.
š„ Whatās Heating Up This Week
Markets are moving - here's whats heating up with our partners:
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