Dow shot up 423, advancers ahead of decliners about 2-1 & NAZ gained 89. The MLP index was up 1 to the 225s & the REIT index hardly budged in the 464s. Junk bond funds stayed in demand & Treasuries saw more selling, raising yields. Oil finished lower, under 92, & gold edged up 2 to 1679 (more on both below).
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.2180338269244485)
Rising mortgage rates, high home prices & uncertainty in the overall economy have Americans feeling more pessimistic about the state of the housing market. In Oct, just 16% of consumers said they thought now is a good time to buy a home, according to a monthly survey by Fannie Mae. That is the lowest share since the survey began in 2011. The share of respondents who thought now is a good time to sell a home also dropped from 59% to 51%. Fannie Mae's survey looks not just at buying & selling but tests sentiment about home prices, mortgage rates & the job market. It combines them all into one number, which also fell for the 8th straight month & now sits at a new low. A higher share of consumers, 37%, said they expect home prices to drop in the next 12 months. That compares with 35% in Sep. More also believe mortgage rates will rise. Fast-rising interest rates are what turned the red-hot housing market on its heels in early summer. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage started the year near a record low, around 3%. By Jun it crossed 6%, & it's now just over 7%, according to Mortgage News Daily. “As continued affordability constraints reduce homebuyer demand, and homeowners become reluctant to sell at potentially reduced prices, we expect home sales to slow even further in the coming months, consistent with our forecast,” wrote Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae's chief economist. Home prices dropped again in Sep, according to Black Knight, albeit at a slower monthly pace than they did in Jul & Aug. Prices are now down 2.6% since Jun, the first 3-month decline since 2018, when interest rates also rose. It is the worst 3-month stretch for home prices since early 2009. Prices, however, were still 10.7% higher in Sep than the same month last year.
Consumer confidence in the housing market hits a new low, according to Fannie Mae
2 of the nation's most prominent oil industry groups slammed Pres Biden following his comments yesterday vowing to block all new fossil fuel drilling. "No more drilling," Biden said in response to a crowd member's shouts during a campaign event in New York. "There is no more drilling. I haven’t formed any new drilling." The comments appeared to be in reference to a 5-year offshore drilling plan that the Dept of the Interior (DOI) is expected to finalize in the near future. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has opened the door to block all drilling in federal waters through 2028, but she is also weighing whether to schedule up to 11 lease sales in that time span. Shortly after Biden took office in Jan 2021, he issued an exec order blocking all new oil & gas drilling on both federal lands & waters, following thru on a 2020 campaign promise to "end fossil fuel." However, in Aug, a federal judge delivered a fatal blow to the leasing moratorium, ruling that it was "beyond the authority" of the White House. "The message is clear: Joe Biden is directly responsible for high gas prices, rising home heating costs, and high grocery prices that are crushing every American. The Biden administration is to blame for this self-inflicted energy crisis and the looming diesel shortage," Matt Coday, the pres & founder of the Oil & Gas Workers Association, said. "This administration has slowed down federal permitting." "Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen asked banks to stop funding fossil fuels projects," he added. "Biden nominated a Marxist comptroller of the currency who said she wanted fossil fuel companies ‘to go bankrupt.’" Additionally, National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito slammed Biden for focusing on politics instead of measures that would boost US energy security.
Oil industry unleashes on Biden after 'no more drilling' pledge
Apple (AAPL), a Dow & NAZ stock, warned yesterday that COVID-19 restrictions are hampering production at the main plant manufacturing the new iPhone 14 Pro in Zhengzhou, China. "The facility is currently operating at significantly reduced capacity," AAPL said. "We continue to see strong demand for iPhone 14 Pro
and iPhone 14 Pro Max models. However, we now expect lower iPhone 14
Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated and
customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new
products." China has maintained its "zero-COVID" policy, but the country reported the highest number of new cases in 6 months yesterday. Foxconn employs about 200K people at the Zhengzhou factory that makes a majority of Apple's iPhones globally. China ordered an industrial park that houses that iPhone factory to
enter a 7-day lockdown earlier this week, barring residents from
going out & restricting travel on roads. "Foxconn is now working with the government in concerted effort to stamp
out the pandemic and resume production to its full capacity as quickly
as possible," Foxconn added. The stock rose 54¢.
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club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/AAPL?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
China's COVID-19 restrictions slowing iPhone 14 production, Apple says
Gold futures scored a 2nd consecutive session gain to finish at their highest price in nearly 4 weeks. Gold for Dec rose $3 to settle at $1680. A couple of factors were influencing metals prices today,
including a slightly softer $ & reports that hopes for Chinese
capitulation on Pres Xi Jinping's "COVID-zero" policy were
premature. The ICE US Dollar Index, a gauge of the $'s strength against a basket of rivals, was off 0.7% at 110.13. The precious metal has seen prices climb, supported by Fri's mixed US labor markets data that put the $ under some
selling pressure.
Gold prices post their highest finish in almost 4 weeks
Oil futures settled lower, as traders weighed uncertainty over China's next move on COVID-related restrictions that are likely to have an impact on energy demand. The oil market still is a little bit nervous about the demand prospects & more clarity is needed on China's reopening plans. There will be a lot of focus on the demand numbers in this week's US petroleum supply report, as well as a focus on US oil production, as frackers are reluctant to raise oil production in the uncertain environment. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for Dec fell 82¢ (0.9%) to settle at $91.79 a barrel.
Oil futures end lower as traders ponder China’s next move on COVID-related restrictions
Dow Jones Industrials
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