Premarket, the Dow is down. No earnings today, but tomorrow we have earnings from XOM, CVX and MRK.

The Market

The Dow is up about 6% so far in January, while the S&P 500 is up 5% and the Nasdaq up 4%. The Dow is just 2% away from its record high, hit in October 2007, while the S&P 500 is about 5% away from its record high, also reached in October 2007.

Initial jobless claims claims rose 38,000 to 368,000 in the latest week, with analysts expecting 345,000 claims.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported the number of planned job cuts surged 24% to 40,430 in January.

Friday we get the Jobs Reports where analysts are expecting employers to add 180,000 jobs in January and the unemployment rate ticked down to 7.7% from 7.8% in December. We shall see.

Personal income rose 2.6% in December, and spending inched up 0.2%.

The Federal Reserve said economic growth had paused. The Fed announcement came after a government report released earlier in the day showed the U.S. economy contracted during the fourth quarter of 2012.

Analysts were surprised with the fourth-quarter GDP data and said it was likely an exaggeration of the economy’s weakness. :ets hope so.

European markets are down and Asian markets closed mixed.

Earnings Reports

Earnings reports (estimates): UPS-UPS ($1.38), OXY-Occidental Petroleum (1.66), MO-Altria (0.55), MA-Mastercard (4.80), CL-Colgate-Palmolive (1.40), EPD-Enterprise (0.65), DOW-Dow Chemical (0.34), D-Dominion (0.69), VIAB-Viacom (0.90), TWC-Time Warner (1.55), TMO-Thermo Fisher (1.28), MCK-McKesson (1.63), CB-Chubb (-0.46), BX-Blackstone Group (0.47), HSY-Hersey (0.75), PCAR-Paccar (0.68), SHW-Sherwin-Williams (1.16), AET-Aetna (0.94), CAM-Cameron International (0.95), MJN-Mead Johnson (0.68), XEL-Xcel Energy (0.28), ZMH-Zimmer Holdings (1.49), IVZ-Invesco (0.47), WYNN-Wynn Resorts (1.27), CNH-CNH Global (0.70), EMN-Eastman Chemical (1.19), PFG-Principal Financial (0.74).

Financial Calendar

0730 ET Jan Challenger job cuts, Dec -22.1% y/y.

0830 ET Weekly initial unemployment claims expected +20,000 to 350,000, previous -5,000 to 330,000. Weekly continuing claims expected +14,000 to 3.171 mln, previous -71,000 to 3.157 mln.

0830 ET Q4 employment cost index expected +0.5%, Q3 +0.4%.

0830 ET Dec personal spending expected +0.3%, Nov +0.4%. Dec personal income expected +0.8%, Nov +0.6%.

0830 ET Dec PCE deflator expected unch m/m and +1.4% y/y, Nov -0.2% m/m and +1.4% y/y. Dec core PCE deflator expected +0.1% m/m and +1.4% y/y, Nov unch m/m and +1.5% y/y.

0830 ET USDA weekly Export Sales.

0900 ET Jan Milwaukee NAPM.

0945 ET Jan Chicago purchasing managers index expected +0.5 to 50.5, Dec -0.2 to 50.0.