What to Watch Thursday: Get Ready For Jobless Claims Data

In 'What to Watch on Wall Street' for Thursday December 31, it's New Year's Eve but the stock market will still be open for a full day of trading. Before ringing in the new year, pay attention to several key economic reports. At 8:30 a.m. Eastern, we get jobless claims, then shortly after, the Chicago PMI will be released. Last but not least, expect to get the Baker-Hughes rig count in the afternoon. Out of all these reports, the one that many traders will keep an eye on is jobless claims. Here's what to expect. Economists estimate the total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits will be 270,000. It should be similar to the previous week's total of 267,000 claims. Numbers have been positive so far, indicating that the labor market is strong. This is largely due to low layoffs and steady pace of hiring. TheStreet's U-Jin Lee reports from Wall Street.