Here come initial jobless claims ...

The Labor Department will release its weekly data on initial jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Economists forecast that first-time claims for unemployment insurance increased last week to 262,000 from 253,000, according to Bloomberg.

There are seasonal adjustment issues that could make the claims numbers more volatile around this time of year. But overall, the data send a fairly consistent and upbeat message; weekly claims have not risen above 300,000 for the last 72 weeks - the longest streak in 43 years.

More to come ...