Dow zoomed 542, advancers over decliners 4-1 & NAZ soared 300. The MLP index crawled up 1+ to the 114s & the REIT index gained 1+ to the 352s. Junk bond funds remained strong along with stocks & Treasuries were a tad lower in price. Oil was off fractionally to the 38s after 4 up days & gold exploded, up 54 to 1950 (more on both below).
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.2180338269244485)
The Federal Reserve, meeting on the heels of the still-undecided presidential election, reiterated its pledge to do whatever it can to help navigate the US economy & the coronavirus pandemic. "The path of the economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus," the FOMC said after its 2-day meeting. "The ongoing public health crisis will continue to weigh on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term, and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term." The central bank, as widely expected, held the benchmark federal funds rate at 0-0.25%, where it has been since mid-Mar. The Fed reiterated previous guidance that rates will remain near-zero "until labor market conditions have reached levels consistent with the Committee's assessments of maximum employment and inflation has risen to 2 percent and is on track to moderately exceed 2 percent for some time." Previous guidance from the Fed's Sep meeting shows that policymakers expect interest rates to remain near zero thru 2023.
Fed holds rates near zero, pledges support as pandemic continues
Pharmaceutical company AstroZeneca (AZN) said that phase 3 trial results for its COVID-19 vaccine could be ready "later this year" in its 3rd-qtr results announcement. The
company previously said in Sep that it would know the
effectiveness of its vaccine by the end of 2020. It had to temporarily
pause trials, which have since resumed, after one patient involved in
the trial fell unexpectedly ill. "Results from late-stage trials are anticipated later this year,
depending on the rate of infection within the communities where the
clinical trials are being conducted," the company said. "Data readouts will be submitted to regulators and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals." The
Food & Drug Administration put a temporary pause on the US phase 3 trial of their vaccine in Sep but lifted the pause in Oct. The company also reported a 55% earnings increase to $1.17B
from $757M at the same time last year. "In
the fight against COVID-19, we advanced our vaccine collaboration with
the University of Oxford & are launching phase 3 trials for our
long-acting antibody combination for the prophylaxis & treatment
against COVID-19 for people who need an immediate defense or whose
weaker immune systems mean they are less likely to benefit from a
vaccine," CEO Pascal Soriot said. The stock rose 12¢.
If you would like to learn more about AZN, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/AZN?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
AstraZeneca expects COVID-19 phase 3 trial results 'later this year' after pause
Gold futures rallied, with prices settling at their highest
level in nearly 7 weeks, as the Bank of England boosted gov bond buying, the $ slumped & investors watched results of
the US elections that appeared more likely to deliver a split
gov. Gold for Dec rose $50 (2.7%) to settle at $1946 an ounce — the
highest finish for a most-active contract since Sep 18. The day's gain marked the largest one-day percentage rise
since Apr. Prices then moved even higher in electronic trading to $1948, shortly after the Federal Reserve
left key US interest rates near zero. The central bank also said the
economy is recovering but still “well below” precrisis levels. As vote counting continues following the elections,
Dem challenger Joe Biden was seen moving closer to clinching a
victory in the electoral college, while Pres Trump's
campaign filed legal challenges. Meanwhile, Reps looked
increasingly likely to retain control of the Senate.
Gold settles at a 7-week high as U.S. dollar falls
Oil futures fell, suffering their first loss in 4 sessions, with attention turning back to the ongoing global rise in COVID-19 cases & worries about energy demand if economies slow. Investors also continued to keep an eye on the results of the US presidential election. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for Dec fell 36¢ (0.9%) to settle at $38.79 a barrel. Prices based on the most-active contract, however, were still up more than 8% week to date. Jan Brent crude lost 30¢ (0.7%) at $40.93 a barrel. The move lower for both WTI & Brent crude follow 3 consecutive sessions of price gains. Oil jumped yesterday, joining a global rally for risky assets, as investors cheered an election outcome that looks on track to produce a split gov, with Dem challenger Joe Biden nearing the threshold for victory over Pres Trump, while the Senate likely remains under Rep control. A sharp fall in US crude inventories in data this week added to the positive mood, but the continued surge in COVID-19 infections remains a negative factor for the market. The US recorded 102K new cases yesterday, the first time the tally has topped 100K Oil prices look to end the week higher, buoyed by the weekly decline in US crude supplies, but also on expectations that OPEC+ will consider extending their production curbs into early next year, instead of easing them in Jan.
Oil logs first loss in 4 sessions as rising COVID-19 cases and lockdowns move back into focus
In the wake of the 2nd wave of coronavirus cases rocketing throughout the continent, the EU has cut its economic outlook for 2021 & beyond, a governing body said. In its autumn forecast, the European Commission said it sees a growth rate of 4.2% in 2021 for the 19 countries that use the €, down from a previous forecast of 6.1%. It also noted that the economy for the 19-country bloc is not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2022. "The economic impact of the pandemic has differed widely across the EU and the same is true of recovery prospects," the commission said. "This reflects the spread of the virus, the stringency of public health measures taken to contain it, the sectoral composition of national economies and the strength of national policy responses." COVID-19 cases in the bloc, which includes countries like France, Germany & Spain, have taken another leg up in recent weeks. France saw nearly 130K new cases on yesterday, almost 10% of its entire total, while Spain saw more than 55K cases on Tues. By contrast, the US surpassed 100K new cases yesterday & is approaching 9.5M total cases, Johns Hopkins notes. The economic rebound during the summer in the wider 27-country EU was robust, after countries across the continent enforced lockdown, resulting in consumers behaving in a cautious manner. Q3 GDP increased by 12.7% from the previous qtr, the largest increase since statistics started being kept in 1995. That robust reopening contributed to the commission raising its estimate for output for all of this year, now saying that the economy would shrink by only 7.8% this year instead of the earlier forecast for a drop of 8.7%. Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said the pandemic has caused "the deepest recession in EU history," surpassing that of the Great Financial Crisis, while adding it was uneven throughout the EU.
Coronavirus forces EU to cut economic outlook
The Dow rose to 28.4K in early trading & remained near that level for the rest of the day. That gives it a 1900 advance for the week. Virus troubles which negatively impact opening of many states have not been a bother for investors, at least so far. The Dow chart below looks positive.
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