th straight day Another day, another set of strong employment data and record highs for the US stock market. Weekly jobless claims continued to fall and now sit at their lowest level since the pandemic began. And, in a separate report, intentions to lay-off staff by firms have hit a 21-year low. That said, the employment component of the ISM manufacturing index contracted to 49.9 from 50.9. But, taken alongside strong ADP beating expectations earlier this week (even if softer than the prior read), it’s not a bad set of data overall ahead of today’s NFP report. But, as Matt Weller points out, some leading indicators point towards a weaker-than expected NFP today which could lead to another disappointment for the highly anticipated release (and take the wind out of sentiment just before the weekend).