Monday, November 4, 2019

Markets pare gains, but close at record highs

Dow climbed 114 (below ealry highs), advancers over decliners about 3-2 & NAZ went up 46.  The MLP index added 2 to 219 & the REIT index dopped 3+ to the 409s.  Junk bond funds fluctuated & Treasuries dropped in price (more below).  Oil gains were pared in the PM but ended at a monthly high & gold was steady at 1511 (more below).

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Demand for business loans weakened in Q3 as bank customers dialed back their plans for new plant & equipment investment, according to a Federal Reserve survey.  Nearly 1/3 of the senior bank loan officers surveyed by the Fed in Oct said demand for business loans was moderately weaker in Q3 for large-& middle-market firms—those with annual sales of $50M or more—while about 20% saw lower demand from smaller firms.

Fed Survey Shows Business Loan Demand Weakened in Third Quarter


Gold futures ended slightly lower, with US benchmark stock indices notching record levels & dulling demand for haven gold.  The yellow metal, however, held ground above the key $1500 level for 3rd straight session as commodity investors harbor doubts about US economic vitality.  Gold for Dec inched down 30¢ to settle at $1511 an ounce after notching a 0.4% weekly advance based on the most-active contracts.  Gold prices settle with a modest loss as stocks closed at; records following a hotter-than-expected jobs report on Fri showed 128K jobs created in Oct.  Gold prices tend to fall when risk assets like equities are on the rise, & vice versa.  Indeed, the Institute for Supply Management’s Oct manufacturing activity index came in at 48.3%, below expectations for a 49% reading, but above the 47.8% seen in Sep.  Any reading below 50% indicates contraction.

Gold ends lower as the U.S. stock market rallies but prices hold above $1,500

Treasury yields shifted higher as investors anticipated the conclusion of a Phase 1 US-China trade deal following upbeat comments from the Trump administration.  The 10-year Treasury note yield climbed 5.4 basis points to 1.782%, while the 2-year note rate edged up 3.2 basis points to 1.594%.  The 30-year bond yield rose 5.3 basis points to 2.266%.  Bond prices move in the opposite direction of yields.  Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that he was optimistic about the first leg of a trade deal being finalized this month.  In addition, he said the US may “not need” to put tariffs on European cars, following Pres Trump’s request for the Commerce Dept to investigate whether foreign auto makers threatened US national security.  The White House had been deliberating whether to impose tariffs on European autos & parts of up to 25% & earmarked Nov 14 as its deadline for making a decision.  Demand for haven assets waned as stocks drew strong appetite from market participants.  In Asia, South Korea's Kospi gained 1.4%, while China's CSI 300 advanced 0.7%.  Last week, the stronger-than-expected nonfarm employment report for Oct eased concerns around the labor market's health, one of the key engines for the economy.  Strong employment growth, so far, has helped dampen worries that deteriorating global growth & a contracting manufacturing sector would drag the US into a recession.  As for the Federal Reserve, San Francisco Fed Pres Mary Daly is due to speak later today.  The central bank lowered interest rates for the 3rd time in a row last Wed, but indicated it would stay on hold barring a sharp worsening of the economic outlook.  Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said the Fed was “effectively on pause for a while," & added he wanted the central bank to commit to not raising its benchmark interest rate until core inflation returned to 2% annual growth pace.

Treasury yields push higher as trade optimism lifts Dow to new all-time high

Enthusiasm in the AM faded a bit in the PM.  But the popular averages were able to close at record levels making the traders happy.  The trade deal remains "down the road" resulting in limited profit taking.  More economic data for Oct is coming this week & it's likely to be spotty,  In addition, the goings on in Hong Kong have dragged on for months & show no sign of ending soon.  Hong Kong (already in a recession) is a major banking center for China & a lot of export goods are shipped from there.  More problems could negatively affect a China trade deal.

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