Dow was off 128, decliners over advancers about 5-4 & NAZ rose 185. The MLP index gave back 6+ to the 311s & the REIT index dropped 6+ to 430. Junk bond funds fluctuated & Treasuries saw limited buying which allowed yields to creep higher. Oil continued fractionally higher in the 68s & gold retreated 18 to 2662 (more below on both ).
Dow Jones Industrials
A "record number" of flights traveled across the US during Thanksgiving week this year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says. Between Sun-Thur, Nov 28, the FAA says it "safely moved more than 232K flights" in the US, including 52K alone on Tues. A total of 12.1M people passed thru Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints during that timeframe, including more than 2.7M the day before Thanksgiving. That's an increase from the 11.7M passengers that the TSA recorded traveling during the same 5-day period last year. "To help with East Coast traffic volume, the FAA used military airspace off the Atlantic Coast and Gulf of Mexico that the military released for commercial plane use," the FAA said. "Controllers implemented traffic management initiatives to help move air traffic expeditiously during bad weather in the Northeast and West Coast, and snow in the Rockies," it continued. "Despite the record numbers, only 0.3 percent of flights were cancelled, and delays were a record low of 1.2 percent of flights," the FAA added.
FAA reports 'record number' of Thanksgiving week flights
Intel (INTC), a Dow company, ousted CEO Pat Gelsinger over the weekend, capping
a tumultuous nearly 4-year tenure at what was America's leading
semiconductor company before its stock price & market share collapsed. The
company announced Gelsinger's resignation today, came after a contentious board
meeting last week over his perceived failure to respond to
Nvidia's (NVDA) competitive edge & a lack of confidence in Gelsinger's
turnaround plans. CFO David Zinsner & INTC products CEO MJ Holthaus were named interim
co-CEOs. Longtime board member Frank Yeary will serve as interim
exec chair. “We
are working to create a leaner, simpler, more agile INTC,” Yeary said. Yeary was a key driver in Gelsinger's. Yeary, INTC's longest-serving board member, will now
have to preside over yet another CEO search process. Gelsinger, 63, had
an illustrious career at INTC, rising to become the company's first
chief technical officer at the turn of the century, before he took a
senior role at EMC. Gelsinger returned to the company from VMware, where
he was chief exec, to stabilize INTC in 2021, succeeding then-CEO
Bob Swan. “It has been a challenging year for all of us as we
have made tough but necessary decisions to position Intel for the
current market dynamics,” Gelsinger said. INTC stock lost 12¢.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger ousted by board after disastrous performance
Stellantis (STLA) CEO Carlos Tavares has unexpectedly resigned from the automaker amid
increasingly “different views” between the exec & the board of
directors, the company said. The world's 4th-largest
carmaker said its board accepted Tavares' resignation yesterday & his
departure was effective immediately. Jeep-maker
STLA said that its process to appoint a new CEO is “well under
way” & that it expects to conclude the search during the first ½ of
next year. Until then, the company said it will establish a new interim
exec committee led by Chair John Elkann. “Stellantis’
success since its creation has been rooted in a perfect alignment
between the reference shareholders, the Board and the CEO. However, in
recent weeks different views have emerged which have resulted in the
Board and the CEO coming to today’s decision,” Henri de Castries, its senior independent director said. STLA on Sun reconfirmed its previously lowered guidance
for the year that included an adjusted operating income margin of 5.5% - 7% & industrial free cash flow between minus €5B ($5.3B) to minus €10B. STLA stock fell 84¢.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares resigns amid problems in U.S., falling sales
Gold traded lower as the $ climbed on rising expectations the Federal Reserve may not lower interest rates when the central bank's policy committee meets later this month. Gold for Feb was last seen down $21 to $2659 per ounce. The precious metal has been mostly rangebound since correcting from a record high of $2800 on Oct 30, as the $ surged following the US election & inflation remains stuck above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. Gold slipped as the $ rose overnight, highlighting its current rangebound behavior while we await fresh US economic data input & guidance on the pace & timing of additional US rate cuts. The US Oct personal consumption expenditures index, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, was last week reported to have risen at a 2.3% annualized rate, up from 2.1% in Sep. The rise, as well as potential economic turmoil from the incoming Trump Administration in Jan, has some analysts expecting the Fed will stand pat at the Dec 18 end of the meeting the FOMC. The $ rose early, with the ICE dollar index last seen up 0.76 points to 106.50. Treasury yields also rose, with the US 2-year note last seen paying 4.202%, up 4.3 basis points, while the yield on the 10-year note up 1.8 points to 4.193%.
Gold Trading Lower, Remains Rangebound, as Dollar and Yields Climb
Crude oil prices have started to rise as tensions mount ahead of the most important OPEC+ meeting before 2025, which will be held on Thurs. Ahead of the meeting, Iranian official Afshin Javan made an ominous statement by issuing an opinion piece that blamed OPEC+ for the current low prices. The main point of the opinion piece was that OPEC+ had kept oil prices high for too long, funding its competitors to boost cheaper alternatives. The debate is heated ahead of Thurs's online meeting where OPEC+ will agree to extend its production curbs. Crude Oil (WTI) was trading at $68.90 & Brent Crude Oil was at $72.75.
Crude Oil Prices Rise Slightly Ahead of OPEC+ Meeting
The S&P 500 & Dow are entering Dec on a high note, following their best monthly gains in a year. The rally got a boost last month thanks to optimism around Pres-elect Donald Trump's victory.
