ADP Employment Report

The ADP Employment Report came in at 176,000 new private sector jobs, which beat the estimate of 105,000.  That is giving some hope to tomorrows monthly Labor Department Jobs Report, but no one really expects too big of a surprise based on the recent string of disappointing reports.  The ISM Service Index was reported at 52.1 which is also the lowest number since January 2010, so that is countering any good feelings about the better jobs number.  Markets are also responding to global central bank rate cuts with the ECB, the bank of England, and China all lowering lending rates.  Stocks are about even at the moment, and mortgage bonds are trading higher along the top end of their range.  That keeps interest rates low for today, however, we will advise a locking bias later today as tomorrows jobs report could bring volatility.