Daily Summary: Markets Selloff After Strong NFP

Strong December jobs report shocked markets, with 256,000 new payrolls far exceeding expectations of 164,000. This triggered a broad market selloff as investors rapidly recalibrated Fed rate cut expectations.

US Stock market indices see broad declines. S&P 500 losses -1.3%, Dow Jones is down -1.3%, Nasdaq 100 declines by 1.2% and Russell 2000 leads declines with over -2.3% sell-off. 

Consumer sentiment data from University of Michigan showed concerning divergence, with current conditions improving but inflation expectations jumping to 3.3% for both 1-year and 5-year outlooks, suggesting growing anxiety about future price pressures

Oil prices surged above $80 per barrel amid reports of imminent U.S. sanctions targeting Russia's oil sector, including approximately 180 tankers and major companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftgas. Cold weather forecasts in the U.S. and Europe added support to energy prices.

Fed Governor Goolsbee offered an optimistic view on inflation progress, noting the six-month rate at 1.9% and suggesting rates could be "a fair bit lower" in 12-18 months. However, he expressed concern about potential tariff impacts on prices.

Delta Air Lines shares soared 9.35% after forecasting its strongest financial year ever, projecting Q1 revenue growth of 7-9% and over $4B in free cash flow for 2025. The carrier's focus on premium offerings continues driving growth.

California wildfire concerns triggered a severe insurance sector selloff, with Mercury General plunging 20%. J.P. Morgan estimates insured losses could exceed $20B, while total economic damage is projected between $135-150B.

Canadian swaps market sees a 53% chance of BoC rate cut in January down from 71% after stronger than expected employment data. Unemployment Rate came at 6.7% vs forecasted 6.9% and previous 6.8%.

The Supreme Court signaled likely support for the TikTok ban during today's hearing, with Bloomberg Intelligence giving the platform only a 30% chance of stopping the law. The decision could significantly benefit competitors Meta, Snap, and YouTube.

Nvidia shares fell 2.45% after strongly opposing new chip export restrictions, though the company announced a strategic AI partnership with Hyundai. The Korean automaker's shares rose 6.1% on the news.

On European markets the NFP data also impacted the largest indices leading to declines in the last part of the session. Swiss SMI led declines with over -1.1% sell-off, CAC40 lost -0.8%, DAX declined -0.5%, FTSE 100 decreased by almost -0.9% and IT40 lost -0.6%. 

On the forex market US Dollar was the strongest currency, appreciating against a currency basket by almost 0.5%. On the other hand the British pound lost the most, declining by 0.8%. New Zealand dollar lost -0.7% and euro declined by -0.6% 

Cryptocurrencies are making a recovery from recent losses. Bitcoin has gained 2.6%, trading at $94,700, while Ethereum has risen by 1.9% to $3,281.