Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change
DJIA	Dow Industrials	19239.58		23.34	0.12%
S& P 500	S& P 500 Index	2212.23		7.52	0.34%
NASDAQ	NASDAQ Composite	5333.00		24.11	0.45%

 

Stocks trade slightly higher as telecoms jump more than 1% Fed, ECB in focus

U.S. equities rose on Tuesday, as a post-election rally continued, while investors digested key economic data and braced for two key central bank meetings.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose about 20 points, with Goldman Sachs adding the most gains. Earlier, Boeing shares were under pressure after President-elect Donald Trump threatened to cancel an order for a new 747 Air Force One.

The S & P 500 gained 0.2 percent, with telecommunications rallying 1.5 percent to lead advancers. Energy shares, meanwhile, erased earlier losses to trade slightly higher. U.S. crude futures for January delivery fell 1.7 percent to settle at $ 50.93 per barrel.

Stocks have rallied sharply since Donald Trump stunned the world by defeating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the US presidential election, with optimism for greater infrastructure spending and deregulation of certain sectors propelling the sharp increase. The Russell 2000, which is composed of small- Cap stocks, has handily outperformed the three major indexes.

In economic news, third-quarter U.S. productivity rose at an annualized rate of 3.1 percent, the Labor Department said, while the U.S. trade deficit widened to $ 42.6 billion. October factory orders, rose 2.7 percent, slightly above a 2.6 percent estimate from Reuters.

The data was released as investors got ready for the Federal Reserve' s meeting next week and a European Central Bank announcement on monetary policy due Thursday.

The Fed is largely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, as investors look for clues about the central bank' s pace of normalization. According to the CME Group' s FedWatch tool, market expectations for a rate hike next week are more than 90 percent, but While 5.2 percent for a February increase. Meanwhile, the ECB is widely expected to extend its quantitative easing beyond March 2017.

Overseas, European equities traded mostly higher, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index rising 0.97 percent, as political crisis worries faded. In Asia, stocks rose rose after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept interest rates unchanged, with the Nikkei 225 rising 0.47 percent.

Gold futures for February delivery fell $ 6.40 to settle at $ 1,170.10 per ounce.

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Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change
DJIA	Dow Industrials	19216.24		45.82	0.24%
S& P 500	S& P 500 Index	2204.71		12.76	0.58%
NASDAQ	NASDAQ Composite	5308.89		53.24	1.01%

 

Dow notches new record closing high as Street shrugs off Italian referendum

U.S. equities closed higher on Monday, unfazed by a key vote in Italy which led to Prime Minister Matteo Renzi' s resignation, as financials, technology and consumer discretionary stocks rose around 1 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained around 45 points, notching record highs on an intraday and closing basis, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most gains. The S & P 500 advanced 0.58 percent, with financials, information technology and consumer discretionary leading advancers. The Nasdaq composite outperformed , Closing 1 percent higher.

Stocks have been on a rip-roaring rally since the US election, with the three large-cap indexes rising more than 2 percent. " I think we' ll be OK through the rest of the year," said Tom Siomades, head of Hartford Funds Investment Consulting Group. " There really is not that much to wrap your hands around through the rest of the year."

Renzi said he would step down after being defeated in a referendum regarding his plan to overhaul the Italian constitution. Renzi said voters had shown a " clear" rejection of legislative reform measures and that he would meet with his cabinet on Monday and then hand in his Resignation to the President Sergio Mattarella, taking full responsibility for the defeat.

The reforms would have made it so that that the executive branch needs approval only from parliament' s lower house in order to pass laws. Legislation is a slow, arduous process in Italy, where there are a high number of lawmakers relative to the population, and where the Two houses of parliament principles have the same, duplicate powers.

But " going into the vote, ... the market had expected any trouble in terms of liquidity, particularly with the banks, would be mitigated by a Mario Draghi put," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial. Banca Popolare di Milano fell more than 7 percent in European trade.

" I think the fact that we went through the referendum and not much has changed since then is [good] for U.S. markets," said Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones, adding that U.S. stocks were taking their cue from European markets.

The euro briefly dipped more than 1 percent against the dollar on Sunday evening, before trading higher against the US currency. As of 4:01 pm ET, the European common currency traded 0.94 percent higher, at $ 1.0765. European stocks also rose, with the Pan-European Stoxx 600 index rising about 0.56 percent.

We did not react today to Italy, " however, I think this is the calm before the storm," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial, noting that the referendum' s defeat puts the country' s banks in a vulnerable spot.

" Much of the bounce back is mainly due to the victory of the Green party over in Austria which has faded the picture that there would be any outcome such as Brexit. But the pain for the euro may continue as the upcoming elections over in Germany, Netherland, France and Italy will maintain their pressure, " said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets, in a note." The support of 1.02 could be tested in the coming months and we will be watching this level very closely.

Investors also payed attention to remarks made by New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley, in which he said he favors gradual rate hikes if the US economy stays on track. The expectation among investors is for the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates at its meeting later In December. According to the CME Group' s FedWatch tool, market expectations for a rate hike this month are above 90 percent.

In oil markets, U.S. crude for January delivery rose 0.21 percent to settle at $ 51.79 per barrel amid optimism surrounding an OPEC deal reached last week.

Gold futures for February delivery settled $ 1.30 lower at $ 1,176.50 per ounce.

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Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change
DJIA	Dow Industrials	19170.42		-21.51	-0.11%
S& P 500	S& P 500 Index	2191.95		0.87	0.04%
NASDAQ	NASDAQ Composite	5255.65		4.55	0.09%

 

 

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