Dow shot up 137, advancers over decliners 5-2 & NAZ gained 37. The MLP index lost 2+ to the 272s & the REIT index added 1+ to the 259s. Junk bond funds went up & Treasuries declined. Oil was flat in the 57s & gold hardly budged at 1257.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Stocks gained with the $ as investors assessed messages from the Federal Reserve & ECB meetings this week with concerns lingering about the prospects for US tax overhaul. All major equity gauges were higher, with S&P 500 shooting up to a record level. Trading in US stock markets may be volatile today amid a quarterly event known as quadruple witching, when futures & options contracts on indices & individual shares expire. Treasuries edged lower, which continued to trade above $57 a barrel, & gold climbed with crude. Uncertainty surrounding the fate of tax reform has investors on edge as they look to the end of a stellar year for equities. Money managers have shown signs of dialing back their appetite to take risk amid signals that the 8-year stock rally may not be far from its end. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was lower with retailers leading the decline. South Africa's rand gained even as volatility soared before the ruling African National Congress meets this weekend to elect a new leader. The € headed for its first weekly advance of the month after the ECB remained cautious about the prospects of reaching its inflation goals while reiterating a pledge to keep stimulus in place. The £ dropped & yields on UK gilts fell to the lowest since Sep amid speculation Brexit talks are about to get more difficult. Russia's ruble fluctuated after the nation's central bank cut rates more than expected.
US industrial production rose at a slower pace in Nov as factory output moderated following the biggest advance in more than 7 years that reflected a hurricane-related surge, Federal Reserve data showed. Total industrial production, which also includes mines & utilities, increased 0.2% (est 0.3% rise) after an upwardly revised 1.2% jump that was the largest since 2010. Factory output also increased 0.2% (est 0.3% gain) after climbing an upwardly revised 1.4% advance (biggest since 2010). Capacity utilization, measuring the amount of a plant that is in use, edged up to 77.1% (est 77.2%) from 77%. 3 straight months of increased factory output show that manufacturing remains on solid ground amid steady consumer spending & strong gains in business investment. An improvement in overseas markets may also boost export demand in coming months. The latest advance in manufacturing production reflected a widespread increase in the output of durable goods, driven by primary metals. In a sign factories are putting more resources to use, capacity utilization at manufacturers climbed to 76.4%, the highest since 2008. Total industrial production was driven by a 3% increase in oil & gas extraction as activity returned to normal levels following Hurricane Nate, the Fed said. Excluding the rebound in energy extraction, total industrial output would have been unchanged.
Pres Trump's drive to win passage of a sweeping Rep tax bill in Congress hit potential obstacles on yesterday as 2 more Rep senators insisted on changes, joining a list of lawmakers whose support is uncertain. Florida's Marco Rubio said that if the bill's proposed refundability to taxpayers of the child tax credit is not expanded, “I‘m a no ... It has to be higher than $1,100.” Rubio & Sen Mike Lee are in talks with other senators about expanding child tax credit refundability, said a Lee spokesman. Lee is now “undecided on the tax bill as currently written,” Carroll his spokesman added. The child tax credit now in the tax code is meant to lower the tax bills of working families with children. As the fast-moving Rep tax package has evolved, it has tilted increasingly toward benefiting businesses & wealthy taxpayers, a trend that aides were saying privately is a growing concern for some lawmakers. Provisions for offsetting the revenue costs of last-minute changes also were becoming worrisomely unclear, they said. After resisting demands for weeks to cut the top income tax rate for the richest taxpayers, the bill's authors did agree in recent days to lower it to 37% from 39.6%.
Uncertain times in Congress were getting to the stock market, but not today. Those guys in DC are tweaking final changes in the tax bill & there is hope they can make it happen. With many unknowns, the final vote will not be before the end of next week. Then there is funding the gov to avoid shutdown at the end of next week. Overriding good economic news is keeping the bulls happy because they are ignoring the uncertainty.. But Congress has to cooperate to extend this rally.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
| CL=F | Crude Oil | 57.23 | +0.19 | +0.3% |
| GC=F | Gold | 1,257.80 | +0.70 | +0.1% |
Stocks gained with the $ as investors assessed messages from the Federal Reserve & ECB meetings this week with concerns lingering about the prospects for US tax overhaul. All major equity gauges were higher, with S&P 500 shooting up to a record level. Trading in US stock markets may be volatile today amid a quarterly event known as quadruple witching, when futures & options contracts on indices & individual shares expire. Treasuries edged lower, which continued to trade above $57 a barrel, & gold climbed with crude. Uncertainty surrounding the fate of tax reform has investors on edge as they look to the end of a stellar year for equities. Money managers have shown signs of dialing back their appetite to take risk amid signals that the 8-year stock rally may not be far from its end. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was lower with retailers leading the decline. South Africa's rand gained even as volatility soared before the ruling African National Congress meets this weekend to elect a new leader. The € headed for its first weekly advance of the month after the ECB remained cautious about the prospects of reaching its inflation goals while reiterating a pledge to keep stimulus in place. The £ dropped & yields on UK gilts fell to the lowest since Sep amid speculation Brexit talks are about to get more difficult. Russia's ruble fluctuated after the nation's central bank cut rates more than expected.
U.S. Stocks Rise, Dollar Steady Amid Tax Debate: Markets Wrap
US industrial production rose at a slower pace in Nov as factory output moderated following the biggest advance in more than 7 years that reflected a hurricane-related surge, Federal Reserve data showed. Total industrial production, which also includes mines & utilities, increased 0.2% (est 0.3% rise) after an upwardly revised 1.2% jump that was the largest since 2010. Factory output also increased 0.2% (est 0.3% gain) after climbing an upwardly revised 1.4% advance (biggest since 2010). Capacity utilization, measuring the amount of a plant that is in use, edged up to 77.1% (est 77.2%) from 77%. 3 straight months of increased factory output show that manufacturing remains on solid ground amid steady consumer spending & strong gains in business investment. An improvement in overseas markets may also boost export demand in coming months. The latest advance in manufacturing production reflected a widespread increase in the output of durable goods, driven by primary metals. In a sign factories are putting more resources to use, capacity utilization at manufacturers climbed to 76.4%, the highest since 2008. Total industrial production was driven by a 3% increase in oil & gas extraction as activity returned to normal levels following Hurricane Nate, the Fed said. Excluding the rebound in energy extraction, total industrial output would have been unchanged.
Pres Trump's drive to win passage of a sweeping Rep tax bill in Congress hit potential obstacles on yesterday as 2 more Rep senators insisted on changes, joining a list of lawmakers whose support is uncertain. Florida's Marco Rubio said that if the bill's proposed refundability to taxpayers of the child tax credit is not expanded, “I‘m a no ... It has to be higher than $1,100.” Rubio & Sen Mike Lee are in talks with other senators about expanding child tax credit refundability, said a Lee spokesman. Lee is now “undecided on the tax bill as currently written,” Carroll his spokesman added. The child tax credit now in the tax code is meant to lower the tax bills of working families with children. As the fast-moving Rep tax package has evolved, it has tilted increasingly toward benefiting businesses & wealthy taxpayers, a trend that aides were saying privately is a growing concern for some lawmakers. Provisions for offsetting the revenue costs of last-minute changes also were becoming worrisomely unclear, they said. After resisting demands for weeks to cut the top income tax rate for the richest taxpayers, the bill's authors did agree in recent days to lower it to 37% from 39.6%.
As Republican tax vote nears, more senators waver
Uncertain times in Congress were getting to the stock market, but not today. Those guys in DC are tweaking final changes in the tax bill & there is hope they can make it happen. With many unknowns, the final vote will not be before the end of next week. Then there is funding the gov to avoid shutdown at the end of next week. Overriding good economic news is keeping the bulls happy because they are ignoring the uncertainty.. But Congress has to cooperate to extend this rally.
Dow Jones Industrials
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