Markets edged higher in record territory

Dow gained 39, advancers over decliners about 2-1 & NAZ went up 22 to a new record.  The MLP index went up 2+ to the 177s & the REIT index rose 1 to 463.  Junk bond funds inched higher & Treasuries remained under selling pressure.  Oil continued rising, up about 1 to the 68s, & gold slid below 1800 again, down 14 to 1794 (more on both below).

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Luxury home builder Toll Brothers (TOL) reported in its fiscal year 2021 Q3 earnings results that the firm hit a new record for new contracts on the qtr, exceeding Q3 of last year by 35% when new contracts hit a previous all-time high.  The net signed contract value was almost $3B in the most recent qtr & contracted homes reached 3154 in a year-over-year increase of 11%.  TOL said that net signed contracts – in both dollars & units – were Q3 records.  The company also saw all-time records in both dollars & units for homes in backlog, with value surging 55% from a year earlier to $9.4B & units spiking 47% to 10,661.  "We are very pleased with our third quarter performance," Chairman and CEO Douglas C. Yearley, Jr. said.  "Home sales revenues were up 37%, and pre-tax income and earnings per share more than doubled compared to one year ago. We are benefiting from our strategy of broadening our product lines, price points and geographies as we continue to grow our business, drive price, expand margins and improve our capital efficiency."  "Demand continues to be very strong," he continued, adding that "The housing market is being driven by many strong fundamentals, including low mortgage rates, favorable millennial-driven demographics, a decade of pent-up demand, low new home supply, and a tight resale market."  The stock went up 2.65.
If you would like to learn more about TOLL, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/TOLL?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7 

Toll Brothers luxury home builders hit record in new home contracts amid construction boom

American Aiirlines (AAL) Aug revenue is coming in lower than expected as a rise in Covid cases drives down bookings, the latest carrier to warn about the impact of infections on sales.  “This has been and we expect will continue to be a very choppy recovery,” Vasu Raja, AAL's chief revenue officer, said.  Raja said that Jul revenue came in ahead of the airline's expectations but that the increase in Covid cases has led to weaker near-term bookings & higher cancellations.  “Given the fluidity of the current demand environment we are not ready to make definitive adjustments to our capacity plans or guides at this point in time,” Raja added.  The stock rose 32¢  .
If you would like to learn more about AAL, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/AAL?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7

American Airlines says August revenue weaker than expected because of rise in Covid cases

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), a Dow stock & Dividend Aristocrat, a booster shot of its Covid-19 vaccine generated a promising immune response in early stage clinical trials – though the information provided by the company in a press release was light on some details.  JNJ's vaccine requires only one dose & recipients are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after receiving the shot.  JNJ recipients who received a booster dose of the shot generated virus-fighting antibodies “nine-fold higher” than those seen 4 weeks after a single dose.  Increases in antibody responses were observed in vaccine trial participants between ages 18-55, the company said, & in those 65 years & older who received a lower dosage of the booster shot.  The results are based on 2 Phase 1/2 studies.  “We have established that a single shot of our COVID-19 vaccine generates strong and robust immune responses that are durable and persistent through eight months,” Dr Mathai Mammen, head of research & development at JNJ's Janssen vaccine arm.  “With these new data, we also see that a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine further increases antibody responses among study participants who had previously received our vaccine,” he added.  The stock fell 1.10.
If you would like to learn more about JNJ, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/JNJ?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7

J&J says Covid booster shot generated promising immune response in early trials

Dr Peter Hotez warned that rapid spread of the delta coronavirus variant has forced the threshold for the amount of Americans requiring vaccination in order to achieve herd immunity much higher.  “We’re now realizing with the variant that’s this transmissible, that we have to get to 85%, maybe, as Tony Fauci said, 90% of the country vaccinated,” said Hotez, co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital.  “That’s not 85%, 90% of the adults, that’s 85-90% of the country which means all of the adults and all of the adolescents, if we’re really going to get past this, and this is why he’s giving these extended time frames before we get out of Covid-19.”

Covid: 85-90% of the U.S. must be vaccinated ‘if we’re going to get past this,’ warns Dr. Peter Hotez

Gold futures settled lower, with the sharpest daily drop in more than 2 weeks pulling prices back below the $1800-an-ounce mark for the first time in3 sessions.  Against that backdrop, Dec gold fell $17 (1%) to settle at $1791 an ounce, losing its grip on the level of $1800, after rising a smidgen yesterday.  Prices for the most active contract posted their biggest one-day percentage decline since Aug 9.  Metals traders await the annual Jackson Hole central bankers monetary-policy symposium where Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Fri may indicate that the central bank will slow monthly purchases of Treasuries & mortgage-backed securities, which could influence gold buying.  For now, commodity experts said that gold may be wedged in between a short-term moving average at $1793 an ounce & its 200-day MA at $1812, with the latter serving as resistance, as investors see more opportunity in stocks rather than safe-haven assets like gold & bonds.  The slump for bullion also comes as the $, as gauged by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index, was up 0.1%, though it is on track for a weekly retreat of 0.6%.  On top of that, the 10-year Treasury note was at around 1.35%, representing a roughly 2-week high.

Gold settles lower, loses grip on $1,800 mark

Oil futures ended higher, with prices scoring their longest strength of daily gains so far this month on the heels of a 3rd straight drop in US crude inventories.  The Energy Information Administration said US crude inventories fell by 3M barrels last week.   The forecast called for a decline of 3.2M barrels for crude stocks, while the American Petroleum Institute reported a 1.6M-barrel decrease.  West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for Oct rose 82¢ (1.2%) to settle at $68.36 a barrel.  Front-month contract prices ended at their highest since Aug 13.  Oct Brent, the global benchmark, added $1.20 (1.7%) at $72.25 a barrel, the highest finish since Aug 3.  Prices for WTI & Brent crude notched a third straight gain, the longest streak of daily gains since the 3-session rise ended on Jul 30.  

Oil prices end higher with U.S. crude supplies down a third straight week

In a relatively quiet time for stocks, the popular averages are rising to or near record levels.  The disaster in Afghanistan is being ignored as is the continued struggle with the virus.  The US economy is doing well, but the latest economic data is showing it has to struggle to maintain forward momentum.

Dow Jones Industrials