Biden stops federal aid for overseas coal, oil, and gas projects.
G-7 finance ministers plan to discuss inflation on Monday. The United Kingdom, Norway, and the European Union signed a trilateral agreement on fishing catch limits for 2022 today - UK Government Statement. US CPI MoM Actual 0.8% (Forecast 0.7%, Previous 0.9%) - DXY weakened, S&P 500 strengthened, Gold strengthened. BoE Survey: 60% of respondents predicted interest rates to rise during the next year, up from 43% in August. China's economy is facing diminishing demand and supply shocks - CCTV. BofA: European equities funds see their biggest weekly outflows since October 2020, at $3.4 billion.
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U.S. stock indexes edged higher in choppy trading on Friday after data showed consumer prices rose in line with estimates last month, taking some pressure off investors concerned about the Federal Reserve's aggressive tightening of its monetary policy.
The Labor Department's report showed U.S. consumer prices accelerated 6.8% in the 12 months through November, their highest level since 1982, as the cost of goods and services rose broadly amid supply constraints. The so-called core consumer price index (CPI) jumped 4.9% on a year-on-year basis after gaining 4.6% in October. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI to climb 6.8% and core CPI to rise 4.9%. "Today's rise in U.S. inflation was broadly expected but it does confirm that price pressures continue to build but also broaden out," said Jai Malhi, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. "This release won't deter (the Fed) from speeding up the (taper) process, allowing the central bank to raise rates earlier next year if required." Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors advanced, with defensive consumer stapes, real estate and utilities largely outperforming, suggesting cautionary trading ahead of the Fed's policy meeting next week. "Right now, possibly we're seeing investors taking more a defensive approach in search of a bit of a safe haven until we find out next Wednesday what the Fed is going to do," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research in New York. The U.S. central bank's policy meeting will be closely watched for commentary about the path of interest rate hikes next year as well as the pace of bond purchases tapering. A Reuters poll of economists predicted the Fed would raise rates by 25 basis points to 0.25-0.50% in the third quarter of next year, followed by another in the fourth quarter. However, most saw the risk of a hike coming even sooner. At 12:24 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 66.47 points, or 0.19%, at 35,821.16, the S&P 500 was up 24.22 points, or 0.52%, at 4,691.67, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 46.67 points, or 0.30%, at 15,564.04. Shares of Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) jumped 16% after the enterprise software maker forecast an upbeat third-quarter outlook. The S&P 500 index dropped 5.2% from a record high hit on Nov. 22 as investors digested Jerome Powell's renomination as the Fed's chair, his hawkish commentary to tackle surging price pressures and the discovery of the Omicron coronavirus variant. A positive update by Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech on their vaccine offering some protection against the latest variant helped push the three main indexes for gains of over 3% each this week. The S&P is now down 1.2% from its all-time peak. Mega-cap technology companies like Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) gained 1.3% and 1.7%, respectively, to provide the biggest boost to the major indexes. Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Inc gained 8.0% as the semiconductor firm sees first-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations and announced a $10 billion share buyback plan. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.18-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.50-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 30 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 22 new highs and 113 new lows. US State Department Spokesman Price: We are discussing options with our close allies, including with the Israelis. We are discussing how we can ensure that Iran is never going to acquire nuclear weapons.
The BoC and finance ministry are to leave inflation target at 2% in framework renewal to be announced soon. WH Press Sec. Psaki: If needed, Biden will veto bill banning vaccine mandates. Senate has votes to advance fast-track plan to raise debt limit Iraq's Oil Minister Jabbar: We are in talks with US company to replace Exxon. The S&P 500 slipped Thursday following a three-day rally as investors weighed up positive labor market data ahead of Friday's inflation report that could intensify expectations for a faster pace of Federal Reserve monetary policy tightening.
The S&P 500 fell 0.71%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat, the Nasdaq fell 1.7%. "The broader market is taking a breather after the run up over the last four days going into tomorrow's consumer price index report," David Wagner, portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors told Investing.com in an interview on Thursday. Economists forecast that the CPI Index for November rose 6.8%, up from 6.2%, led by a sharp increase in rising rents. That would the fastest pace of inflation since 1990. "We're looking at a lot of different REITs and a lot of different apartment companies, and seeing rental growth for those types of companies of about 10%," Wagner added. "Rising rental rates will lead to a CPI reading that's going to be higher than expected and more importantly, it's going to be longer than expected." Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled last month that the Fed would consider stepping up the pace of bond purchasing tapering to curb inflation pressures. On the jobs front, data continued to show an improving labor market as jobless claims fell to 184,000, the lowest in more than 52 years. Energy was the biggest drag on the broader market as oil prices fell 2% on concerns that fresh restrictions in Europe could weigh on the travel, and energy demand, albeit not as much as initially feared. "Oil demand is unlikely to escape completely unscathed, though the effects [from the restrictions] will probably not be nearly as serious as initially feared," Commerzbank said in a note. Diamondback Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FANG), Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB), and Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) led the move to the downside in energy. Technology, meanwhile, was pressured by weakness in semiconductor stocks, paced by a 5% decline in Wolfspeed (NYSE:WOLF) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD). Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) gave up some gains, though Wall Street continues to talk up further growth ahead for the tech giant amid expectations for strong iPhone demand and new production launches. "We believe the risk/reward is very favorable at current levels for this "safety blanket" tech stalwart," Wedbush said. Demand for Apple's iPhone 13 is outpacing supply by "about 10 million units globally," it added. Health care, meanwhile, added to gains from a day earlier as CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) soared to a record high after the drugstore chain said sales were set to strengthen, underpinned by its expansion of health-care services. In other news, GameStop (NYSE:GME) fell more than 10% after the video game retailer reported third-quarter losses than were wider than expected and failed to provide update on strategy to bolster growth. UK moves to plan B, this includes more mask mandates, working from home & vaccine passports for big venues.
OPEC Secretary-General Barkindo: Higher prices, market imbalances and shortages are affecting the energy markets. Pfizer and BioNTech: Three vaccine doses neutralize omicron variant - WSJ $PFE (indexes strengthened) UK Interest Rate Futures show a 45% chance of a 15 basis point rise in BoE rates in December, compared to a 57% chance earlier on Wednesday. Potential Plan B COVID restrictions could be implemented in the UK with an 85% chance according to various sources. (Sterling, FTSE 100 and UK gilt yields weakened) Further COVID restrictions in the United Kingdom will be revealed very soon - FT & Sources The S&P 500 struggled for direction Wednesday, as investors paused their bullish bets on stocks a day after the broader market's biggest daily gain since March.
The S&P 500 rose 0.15%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%, or 26 points, the Nasdaq climbed 0.5%. . Despite the pause in the broader market, underlying investor sentiment on stocks continues to be supported by further positive news highlighting the efficiency of vaccines in protecting against the Omicron virus. Pfizer and BioNTech said Wednesday preliminary results showed their Covid-19 vaccine neutralizes the virus' Omicron variant after three doses. Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) traded lower. Pfizer also said it that would submit full results of its Covid-19 pill, Paxlovid, to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the coming days, CNBC reported, citing the company's Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla. Consumer stables, a defensive corner of the market, was the biggest decliner, paced by a decline in the Kroger (NYSE:KR), Brown Forman, and Kraft Heinz. Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) fell more than 4% after Guggenheim downgraded the stock to neutral from buy, citing margins pressures ahead. "Kraft Heinz portfolio's lack of pricing power is getting more apparent as weeks pass, which, in our view, has a significant consequence in near term top and bottom line growth," Guggenheim said. Brown Forman (NYSE:BFb) reported third-quarter results that fell short of expectations on both the top and bottom lines, sending its shares more than 2%. Renewed optimism on the recovery, pushed cyclical stocks including financials and energy higher. Financials, mostly banks, gave up some their gains from a day earlier despite rising Treasury yields, an ally of bank stocks. State Street (NYSE:STT), Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ:ZION), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) led financials to the downside. The United States 10-Year yieldrose above 1.5% for the first time in almost a week as investors continued to price in a step in the pace of Federal Reserve's monetary policy tightening. Strength in communication services, however, supported the broader market as social media stocks including Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:FB) advanced. Twitter's new chief executive talked up the prospect of improving the speed of execution at the company to support plans to double revenue double by 2023. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), meanwhile, hit a fresh record high that took the giants' market cap close to an unprecedented $3 trillion. Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU), meanwhile, notched an agreement with Google to keep YouTube and YouTube TV on its platform, sending its shares more than 16% higher. Stitch Fix (NASDAQ:SFIX) was down more than 23% after the shopping and styling company cut its revenue outlook. Energy, struggled to replicate its rally from a day earlier, as data showing a lower-than-expected build in weekly crude stockpiles weighed on oil prices. Crude oil inventories fell to 240,000 barrels last week, missing forecasts for a draw of 1.71 million barrels. Congress is considering lifting the debt ceiling by $2 trillion. - CNBC
US EIA raises forecast for 2022 world oil demand growth by 200,000 BPD, now sees a 3.55 mln bpd YoY increase. The US will ask Germany to halt the NS2 project as a response to Russian aggression. - Source. As of 09:00 ET on Tuesday, no Evergrande bondholders had received delayed coupon payments on the November 2022 and November 2023 notes. - Source. The S&P 500 delivered its biggest one-day rally since March on Tuesday, as a record run in Apple and strong gains in Intel triggered a rally in tech to help the broader market set its sights on record highs once again.
The S&P 500 rose 2%, and now is just about 1% below its all-time highs, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.4%, or 492 points, the NASDAQ climbed 3%. Tech jumped 4% as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) soared to a record high after Morgan Stanley hiked its price target on tech giant to $200 from $164. Apple’s foray into new product categories including augmented reality and virtual reality, which will bolster its valuation, aren’t yet priced into its shares, according to Morgan Stanley. Chip stocks were also in favor, underpinned by a surge in Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) as the chipmaker detailed plans to take Mobileye, its self-driving car business, public in 2022. Reports suggest the self-driving car business could fetch a valuation of about $50 billion, but some on Wall Street said that may be somewhat optimistic. “We do struggle somewhat to understand why Mobileye (F:0ME) should command a $50B valuation,” Wedbush said in a note. While the move is a positive for Intel, the transaction isn’t expected to change the company’s broader trajectory as its “struggles to maintain share in its core operations,” Wedbush added. Sentiment on tech was also strengthened by a melt-up in cloud-related stocks following a 20% rally in MongoDB (NASDAQ:MDB) as the database reported a narrower than expected loss. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), meanwhile, held the bulk of its gains as the e-commerce behemoth said it had identified the cause of problems with its cloud services that caused outages across the internet, including Disney Plus, and Netflix. Cyclicals corners of the market such as energy and financials racked up gains as investors cheered positive updates on Omicron. The new variant is “almost certainly not more severe than the Delta [variant],” Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser said Tuesday. In another positive development, GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) said its monoclonal antibodies treatment was effective against the heavily mutated Omicron variant. Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), meanwhile, was up 1% after data from South Africa indicated the company's vaccine provided partial protection against the omicron variant, Bloomberg reported. Energy followed oil prices higher as positive updates on Omicron and expectations that supply of Iranian crude isn’t likely “anytime soon” amid considerable differences on nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran, Commerzbank said in a note. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) jumped more than 4% after UBS upgraded its price target on the stock to $1,000 from $725, citing the electric automaker as a "undisputed leader." Crypto-related stocks including Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN), Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA), and Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ:RIOT) were pushed sharply higher by a rebound in bitcoin following its recent malaise. On the political front, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly said he reached a deal with Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on the debt ceiling, paving a way for Democrats to raise the limit in a procedural vote, Bloomberg reported. RBNZ's Deputy Gov. Bascand: The RBNZ can exert pressure on house prices by raising costs and limiting credit availability.
Iraq's Oil Minister Jabbar: We expect oil to reach over $75. Japan will limit the number of cryptocurrency issuers, such as Tether, that are backed by reserve assets such as dollars or yen - Nikkei Germany's Greens: We agree to the coalition agreement with Scholz's SPD and FDP. CME Group announces the launch of micro Ether futures. UK BoE Dep. Gov. Broadbent: The BoE's November estimates show very very clearly that if interest rates are not raised, inflation will be comfortably above goal in 2-3 years. WH Press Sec. Psaki: The United States is preparing for a variety of Putin actions in Ukraine, including an invasion.
Biden signs the federal funding bill into law, continuing the US government operations through February 18th. Fed's Bullard: Unemployment will fall below 4% by the first quarter of 2022. Fed's Bullard: We could also consider increasing the rate before the taper. IMF: it is acceptable for the United States Federal Reserve to expedite the tapering of asset purchases and push forward the path for rate hikes. US Nonfarm Payrolls Actual 210k (Forecast 550k, Previous 531k) - DXY Weakened, S&P 500 Strengthened, Gold Whipsawed. Canadian Unemployment Rate Actual 6.0% (Forecast 6.6%, Previous 6.7% - CAD strengthened. |
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