Dow jumped up 106 to another record, advancers over decliners modestly ahead of decliners & NAZ gained 15. The MLP index went up 1 to the 218s & the REIT index sis little in the 401s. Junk bond funds fluctuated & Treasuries crawled higher. Oil slid lower but held above the important 60 residence level & gold added 7 to 1488.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Stocks opened in record territory as stocks kicked off their final full week of trading for 2019. The early gains have the NAZ on track for an 8th straight close at record highs, which would be the longest stretch since 1998. Concerns over the possibility of a North Korean missile test were contained by signs of further progress in cooling trade tensions between the US & Beijing as China announced plans to further open its financial markets to private business. The Ministry of Finance announced today tariff cuts effective Jan 1 on frozen pork, asthma & diabetes medications, integrated circuit boards & some 850 other products. The step is intended to promote the coordinated development of trade & environment, the official Xinhua News Agency said. China's gov repeated a promise today to open its oil, telecom & power markets wider to private competitors. Concern rose after North Korea said its leader Kim Jong Un had convened a key ruling party meeting to decide on steps to bolster the country's military capability. The meeting came amid speculation that the North could abandon diplomacy with the US & launch either a long-range missile or a satellite-carrying rocket if DC doesn't accept its demand for new incentives to salvage faltering nuclear negotiations by year's end. Treasuries were little changed after durable goods orders missed expectations. The yield on the 10-year note was holding near 1.915%. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.5%, Germany's DAX was lower & the CAC 40 in Paris edged a tad. Stocks last week with the S&P 500 notching its 10th winning week in the last 11, finishing with a record high for the 4th time while the Dow & NAZ also ended the week at new highs. Stocks have traditionally climbed in the last 5 days of each calendar year, plus the first 2 of the new year. It's happened often enough that traders call it the "Santa rally."
The Chinese Ministry of Finance announced today tariff cuts effective Jan 1 on frozen pork, asthma & diabetes medications, integrated circuit boards & 850 other products. The step is intended to promote the coordinated development of trade & environment, the official Xinhua News Agency said. China's gov repeated a promise to open its oil, telecom & power markets wider to private competitors. It is a move by the ruling Communist Party to shore up growth in the slowing, state-dominated economy. The Cabinet also promised to give private companies equal treatment with state-owned enterprises in more industries. The statement gave no indication whether the changes apply equally to foreign companies. The promise adds to a string of market-opening measures & tariff cuts meant to help revive economic growth that slowed to a 3-decade low of 6% in the latest qtr. It comes amid a tariff war with DC over Beijing's technology ambitions & trade surplus. The statement promised to "introduce market competition" in key industries including power, telecoms, railways, oil & natural gas. It said private enterprises would be allowed for the first time to carry out basic telecoms services & invest in power generation & distribution. Beijing has ended restrictions on full foreign ownership in electric car manufacturing & says that will extend to the whole auto industry by 2021. Regulators have promised to allow full foreign ownership in banking, insurance & other finance businesses.
Mainland stocks tumble as China cut tariffs on over 850 products
2019 has been a record year for store closures in retail. In the US, retailers this year have announced plans to shut more than 9300 locations. That's up more than 50% from the total announced closures in 2018, which amounted to 5844, Coresight said. Previously, the record was for the 8069 store closures announced in 2017. Bankruptcies continued to be a driving force. Many names on the list are apparel chains. More & more shoppers are either turning to the internet to buy home accessories. That has put pressure on businesses that have failed to invest in their stores & websites, or to keep their inventories fresh. “The shift in consumer habits is driving the success of certain retailers,” Meghann Martindale, the global head of Retail Research at commercial real estate services firm CBRE, said. “We’ve seen consumer preferences change. ... The apparel category is the perfect example of that.” While some are saying 2019 will be an anomaly & that the worst is behind the industry, others are unsure the bad news is over. “I do think, as we look ahead to next year, we see more stability on the retail front. A lot of the bankruptcies have cleared so to speak,” mall owner CBL Properties (CPL) CEO Stephen Lebovitz said. “We like what we are seeing about JC Penney & Macy's is investing in its stores. It does feel better.” But, he added, “there is still some more [turbulence] that we are going to have to go through. ... It’s not a straight-forward trajectory. It will be uneven for the next year or two.” One reason for the continued turbulence is that e-commerce sales are making up a bigger portion of total US retail sales. Purchases made online account for roughly 12% of retail sales, up from about ½ of that in 2010, according to an analysis by consulting firm AT Kearney. The percentage could jump to 1/3 of all US retail sales by 2030.
Retailers announced record store closures in 2019
Stock buyers are in charge, but the extended rally is tired. Market breadth is weak, tech stocks are not seeing much buying, safe haven Treasuries are slightly higher & there is strong demand for gold. However in the semi-holiday season for stocks, volume tends to be light & market moves are generally not significant. Of course, last year was an exception.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
| CL=F | Crude Oil | 60.20 | -0.24 | -0.40% |
Stocks opened in record territory as stocks kicked off their final full week of trading for 2019. The early gains have the NAZ on track for an 8th straight close at record highs, which would be the longest stretch since 1998. Concerns over the possibility of a North Korean missile test were contained by signs of further progress in cooling trade tensions between the US & Beijing as China announced plans to further open its financial markets to private business. The Ministry of Finance announced today tariff cuts effective Jan 1 on frozen pork, asthma & diabetes medications, integrated circuit boards & some 850 other products. The step is intended to promote the coordinated development of trade & environment, the official Xinhua News Agency said. China's gov repeated a promise today to open its oil, telecom & power markets wider to private competitors. Concern rose after North Korea said its leader Kim Jong Un had convened a key ruling party meeting to decide on steps to bolster the country's military capability. The meeting came amid speculation that the North could abandon diplomacy with the US & launch either a long-range missile or a satellite-carrying rocket if DC doesn't accept its demand for new incentives to salvage faltering nuclear negotiations by year's end. Treasuries were little changed after durable goods orders missed expectations. The yield on the 10-year note was holding near 1.915%. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.5%, Germany's DAX was lower & the CAC 40 in Paris edged a tad. Stocks last week with the S&P 500 notching its 10th winning week in the last 11, finishing with a record high for the 4th time while the Dow & NAZ also ended the week at new highs. Stocks have traditionally climbed in the last 5 days of each calendar year, plus the first 2 of the new year. It's happened often enough that traders call it the "Santa rally."
Stocks surge to record highs, kicking off Christmas week
The Chinese Ministry of Finance announced today tariff cuts effective Jan 1 on frozen pork, asthma & diabetes medications, integrated circuit boards & 850 other products. The step is intended to promote the coordinated development of trade & environment, the official Xinhua News Agency said. China's gov repeated a promise to open its oil, telecom & power markets wider to private competitors. It is a move by the ruling Communist Party to shore up growth in the slowing, state-dominated economy. The Cabinet also promised to give private companies equal treatment with state-owned enterprises in more industries. The statement gave no indication whether the changes apply equally to foreign companies. The promise adds to a string of market-opening measures & tariff cuts meant to help revive economic growth that slowed to a 3-decade low of 6% in the latest qtr. It comes amid a tariff war with DC over Beijing's technology ambitions & trade surplus. The statement promised to "introduce market competition" in key industries including power, telecoms, railways, oil & natural gas. It said private enterprises would be allowed for the first time to carry out basic telecoms services & invest in power generation & distribution. Beijing has ended restrictions on full foreign ownership in electric car manufacturing & says that will extend to the whole auto industry by 2021. Regulators have promised to allow full foreign ownership in banking, insurance & other finance businesses.
China promises America major trade concessions
Major markets in Asia were subdued trade even amid greater optimism for US-China relations. Mainland Chinese stocks tumbled. The Shanghai composite fell 1.4% to close at 2962, while the Shenzhen composite dropped
1.9% to 1667. The Shenzhen component was down 1.7% to 10,056 & Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was flat in its final hour of trade. China said it will lower import tariffs on over 850 products from Jan 1. Trade optimism overall boosted sentiment as Pres Trump on Fri said he had “a very good talk” with China’s leader Xi Jinping
about the one trade deal they struck in mid-Dec. That indicated more progress has been made after they reached the
initial agreement. The pres said in a tweet that China has
started “large scale” purchases of US agricultural products, & a
formal deal signing is being arranged. On Sat, he said both countries would “very shortly” sign the deal. Japan's NIkkei 225 was flat, closing at 23,821 & the Topix index fell 0.2% to 1729. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.5% to 6785 as major miners in Australia declined. Gold & oil stocks also saw declines. South Korea's Kospi closed flat to 2203. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed.
Mainland stocks tumble as China cut tariffs on over 850 products
2019 has been a record year for store closures in retail. In the US, retailers this year have announced plans to shut more than 9300 locations. That's up more than 50% from the total announced closures in 2018, which amounted to 5844, Coresight said. Previously, the record was for the 8069 store closures announced in 2017. Bankruptcies continued to be a driving force. Many names on the list are apparel chains. More & more shoppers are either turning to the internet to buy home accessories. That has put pressure on businesses that have failed to invest in their stores & websites, or to keep their inventories fresh. “The shift in consumer habits is driving the success of certain retailers,” Meghann Martindale, the global head of Retail Research at commercial real estate services firm CBRE, said. “We’ve seen consumer preferences change. ... The apparel category is the perfect example of that.” While some are saying 2019 will be an anomaly & that the worst is behind the industry, others are unsure the bad news is over. “I do think, as we look ahead to next year, we see more stability on the retail front. A lot of the bankruptcies have cleared so to speak,” mall owner CBL Properties (CPL) CEO Stephen Lebovitz said. “We like what we are seeing about JC Penney & Macy's is investing in its stores. It does feel better.” But, he added, “there is still some more [turbulence] that we are going to have to go through. ... It’s not a straight-forward trajectory. It will be uneven for the next year or two.” One reason for the continued turbulence is that e-commerce sales are making up a bigger portion of total US retail sales. Purchases made online account for roughly 12% of retail sales, up from about ½ of that in 2010, according to an analysis by consulting firm AT Kearney. The percentage could jump to 1/3 of all US retail sales by 2030.
Retailers announced record store closures in 2019
Stock buyers are in charge, but the extended rally is tired. Market breadth is weak, tech stocks are not seeing much buying, safe haven Treasuries are slightly higher & there is strong demand for gold. However in the semi-holiday season for stocks, volume tends to be light & market moves are generally not significant. Of course, last year was an exception.
Dow Jones Industrials
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