The US economy added 199,000 jobs in December, missing analyst estimates of an 450,000 increase in Non-Farm Payrolls.

The dollar fell in an immediate market reaction to a report that eluded to a weaker US jobs market than previously expected. The miss also sent global equities lower in the wake of the announcement, although there was only minor selling initially, the drop accelerated after the US session began.

The tepid initial reaction to report could be attributed to the mixed nature of readings including wages and the unemployment rate.

Delving deeper into the figures, the unemployment rate fell to 3.9% vs expectations of 4.2% suggesting underlying strength in the US jobs market, despite a miss of the headlines jobs numbers.

Interest Rate Hike

Today’s release is particularly important for markets due to recent comments from the Federal Reserve on the pace of rate hikes through 2022.

The Federal Reserve are monitoring economic data as they move towards the first rate hike since the beginning of the pandemic.

“The FOMC could begin increasing the policy rate as early as the March meeting in order to be in a better position to control inflation,” said Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard early in the week.

It is unlikely Friday’s jobs number will change the course of the Fed and markets should expect a rate hike in the very near future, possibly the March meeting highlighted by Bullard.

Although markets were unfazed by the Non-Farm Payrolls miss, equities reacted negatively to the prospect of rate hike earlier this week. US equity indices fell, driven by a sell off in tech stocks, following hints that Fed were ready to move on rates.

“The realisation has dawned on investors that the drug of cheap money is set to be withdrawn a lot sooner than first forecast. The minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting indicated the likelihood of an earlier rate rise in 2022, and the starting gun being fired more quickly on a race to offload bonds from the bank’s balance sheet and this data will bolster these expectations,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

However, the drop in US indices such as the Dow Jones and S&P 500 may not reflect a complete souring of sentiment, more a rotation away from highly valued tech companies into value stocks that will benefit from a prolonged economic recovery from the pandemic.

Samsung has said that profits are expected to jump 52% for the last three months of 2021.

Despite the chip shortage storm, the group said that it is likely to have made 13.8tn won (£8.5bn) during that period thanks to the high demand.

“Samsung is well placed to profit from the record-breaking demand for PCs and electronics,”  said analyst Sam Reynolds.

The group is also likely to benefit from currency fluctuations.

“The Korean won continues to depreciate, making Korea’s exports more attractive on the global market,” he added.

Shares in the group rose 2%.

Aston Martin sales jumped 80% last year as they sold just over 6,180 vehicles.

By the year 2024, the luxury carmaker has said it expects to hit revenues of £2bn.

Lawrence Stroll, the executive chairman, said: “I am extremely pleased that our core business has delivered to plan with over 6,000 core wholesales in the year whilst driving inventory to levels that are appropriate for an ultra-luxury business.”

“It is a very long time since the core business was in such good health as it is today.”

Also commenting was CEO Tobias Moers, who said: “There is also tremendous demand for our limited editions including the two times oversubscribed Aston Martin Valkyrie Spider, launched in August, and the plug-in hybrid super car Valhalla.”

“In addition, we have taken aggressive action on improving the efficiency and profitability of the business, through Project Horizon.”

The Institute of Student Employers (ISE) has found that this year, vacancies for graduates will be 20% higher.

Firms particularly in energy and the environment are offering more graduate jobs than in 2021. Jobs in the public sector offered will be lower than 2021 but will remain high than pre-pandemic levels.

“The number of graduate jobs has slowly increased but this is the first time we’ve seen hiring back to pre-pandemic levels,” said Stephen Isherwood, chief executive of ISE.

“It demonstrates business confidence and how much employers continue to value a degree. However, with a significant number of employers noting a drop in the quality of applicants, students should be aware of resting on their laurels.”

B&M revenues have increased and the group increased its full-year expectations.

For the 13 weeks from 26 September 2021 to 25 December 2021, the retailer said that revenues increased 14%.

“Our decision to take receipt of imported Christmas stock early in the season meant we were able to provide customers with great products at great prices,” said Simon Arora, B&M chief executive.

“The consistency of performance in the core B&M UK business reflects the growing appeal of our stores as a destination visit for seasonal products, as well as the strength of our supply chain,” he added.

The boss said he expects difficulties in the year ahead including “ongoing supply chain disruption, inflationary pressures and uncertainty surrounding possible Covid-related restrictions.”