Dow shot up 465 (near highs of the day), advancers over decliners almost 3-1 & NAZ soared 257. The MLP index added 4+ to the 112s & the REIT index rose 1+ to the 361s. Junk bond funds went up & Treasuries were sold all day while stocks rallied. Oil remained in demand, up 2+ to the 39s, & gold advanced 10 to 1917 (more on both below).
AMJ (Alerian MLP index tracking fund)
| CL=F | Crude Oil | 39.48 | -1.63 | -4.0% |
| GC=F | Gold | 1,913.30 | -48.80 | -2.5% |
Gold futures climbed, marking their highest settlement in just
over a week, with a softer $ & fresh talk of a stimulus
deal supporting prices for the metal. Bullion's advance, however, remains threatened by increased appetite for
risk as markets react to promising developments in Pres Trump's recovery from COVID-19. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that progress was being made on coronavirus relief legislation. Gold for Dec rose $12 (0.7%) to settle at $1920 an ounce, after posting a 2.2% weekly gain to close out Fri's run. Equity markets rose, a snapback from the softness seen on Fri &
eroding some enthusiasm for precious metals on the session. Uncertainty about the 2020 election, after Trump said he
contracted the deadly disease, rattled markets on Fri. But more
clarity has been provided about the his improved condition,
after he was hospitalized over the weekend, which undercut some demand
for bullion.
Gold prices end at 2-week high on dollar weakness, fresh stimulus talk
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi & Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin spoke for about an hour today but emerged from a phone call with no coronavirus stimulus deal. The pair expects to talk again tomorrow as the White House & Dem
leaders try to craft an elusive 5th pandemic relief package, Pelosi's
spokesman Drew Hammill said. Pelosi & Mnuchin plan to
exchange more details about their proposals today, he added. The sides have made a final push in recent days to strike an aid
agreement & pass legislation before the election. While Pelosi & Mnuchin seem to have made progress toward a deal, they had a range
of outstanding disagreements heading into the weekend.
Pelosi, Mnuchin speak for an hour but don’t reach a coronavirus stimulus deal
Pres Trump said that he will be leaving Walter Medical Center at 6:30PM ET today, just 3 days after he entered the hospital to be treated for the coronavirus. Trump, in a tweet, said he is “feeling really good,” told his nearly 87M followers, “Don’t be afraid of Covid.” Nearly 210K people have died from Covid-19 in the US. Minutes before announcing his imminent departure, Trump defended his decision yesterday to make a drive-by appearance in front of a group of his supporters outside the hospital.
Trump says he will leave Walter Reed hospital on Monday: 'Don't be afraid of Covid'
Sales of F-Series pickups & SUVs helped Ford (F) outperform its Detroit crosstown rivals as well as the broader auto industry in Q3. While
vehicle sales fell by just 4.9% from the same time last year,
the drop was about ½ that of the broader industry & smaller than
the sales declines felt by General Motors (GM) & Fiat Chrysler (FCAU). Such declines typically aren't cause for celebration, but this year is anything but typical. New vehicle sales have recovered far faster
than many expected from Q2 when the coronavirus
pandemic caused plant shutdowns & shuttered dealerships, sending sales down more than 30% compared to 2019. “The
industry had a very sharp recovery from Q2 to Q3,” Mark LaNeve, Ford VP of US marketing, sales & service, said. “It’s been a crazy year but the industry has been resilient and
our dealers have done a great job.” Q3 sales were up 27% relative to the
previous 3 months. It also reported its best Q3 sales of
pickups since 2005. Consumer sales
helped drive the recovery, while Ford's fleet sales to businesses also
started showing signs of a recovery in Q3. Ford is “cautiously optimistic” regarding vehicle sales in the fourth quarter, according to LaNeve. “We’re
carrying really good momentum into Q4,” he said. “Obviously, nobody
really knows what twist and turns could come from a pandemic environment
or the election, but certainly Q3 exceeded expectations and we’re
looking forward to Q4.” Ford's sales thru Q3
were down 17.5% from the same time in 2019. GM's sales during that time
were down 17.4%, while Fiat Chrysler was down about 20%.
The stock rose 13¢.
If you would like to learn more about Ford, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/F?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Ford’s Q3 vehicle sales outperform industry as demand recovers from coronavirus lockdowns
Oil futures rose,
with US prices marking their first gain in 3 sessions as traders
monitored developments tied to Pres Trump's COVID-19
diagnosis & an oil workers' strike that's expected to cut production
in Norway. Nov West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.17 (5.9%) to settle at $39.22 a barrel.
U.S. oil futures finish higher for the first time in 3 sessions
Trump's return to the White House raises the chances
that a fiscal stimulus deal will get done before the election. It's not a done deal, but investors are hoping & the Dow rose an additional 150 after the announcement was made. His return to the White House also brought some degree of calm to the stock market. Later this week Q3 earnings will begin, starting from the big banks which will set a general tone for what to expect from the corps. Currently the housing market is very strong & autos are doing reasonably well. Recent forecasts for US auto sales are about 13M, down from 17M in the good old days. However service business (travel, hotels, cleaners, barber shops, etc.) are still battling headwinds.
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.2180338269244485)
