Energy shares lead the rally
U.S. stocks jumped to new record highs on Thursday, 30 November 2017 fueled by increased optimism regarding the feasibility of a tax overhaul. All major indexes closed higher for the month, with the S&P 500 and Dow logging new records, while the blue-chip index set its longest streak of monthly gains in more than 22 years.
The Dow ended the day with a gain of more than 330 points, or 1.4%, near 24,272 and was up more than 380 points at its peak. The S&P 500 index SPX, +0.82% rose 21.51 points, or 0.8%, to 2,647.58, and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.73% climbed 49.58 points, or 0.7%, to 6,873.97.
The day's gains were broad, with all 11 of the S&P 500's primary sectors finishing in positive territory, led by energy shares, which were among the biggest gainers.
For November, the Dow added 3.8%, its eighth straight month of gains. The S&P 500 gained 2.8%, also up for eight months in a row, matching its eight-month rally from 2007, and the Nasdaq rose 2.2%.
Energy was the top-performing sector, adding 1.6%, after OPEC and non-OPEC nations, including Russia, agreed to extend their production cut agreement by another nine months, as expected. The deal, which will now expire at the end of 2018, seeks to reduce output by 1.8 million barrels per day.
In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries moved lower in a curve-steepening trade, pushing the 2yr-10yr spread higher by one basis point. The yield on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note jumped four basis points to 2.42%, while the 2-yr yield climbed three basis points to 1.79%.
Reviewing Thursday's economic data, which included October Personal Income, October Personal Spending, October PCE Prices, weekly Initial Claims, and the Chicago PMI for November. Personal income climbed 0.4% in October (consensus +0.3%) following an unrevised increase of 0.4% in September. Meanwhile, personal spending rose 0.3% in October (consensus +0.3%), down from a revised increase of 0.9% in September (from 1.0%). The PCE Price Index increased 0.1% in October (consensus +0.1%), while the core PCE Price Index, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.2% (consensus +0.2%). Year-over-year, the core PCE Price Index is up 1.4%.
The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 238,000, which is in line with the consensus. Today's tally was below the revised prior week count of 240,000 (from 239,000). As for continuing claims, they increased to 1.957 million from a revised count of 1.915 million (from 1.904 million).
Chicago PMI for November hit 63.9 (consensus 63.0), down from 66.2 in October.
Bullion prices ended lower on Thursday, 30 November 2017 at Comex. Gold prices fell on Thursday to settle at their lowest level in more than a week, paring the yellow metal's gain for the month of November.
Bullions saw pressure as a round of U.S. economic data did little to sway markets from expectations for an interest-rate hike later this month, yet still left next year's course for rates unclear. Progress on tax changes in the U.S. remains a key market focus as well.
February gold fell $9.50, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,276.70 an ounce. Prices are up roughly 0.5% for the month. Elsewhere on Comex, March silver shed 0.5% to $16.474 an ounce. Prices lost about 1.4% for the month, based on the most-active contracts.
On Thursday, the ICE U.S. Dollar Index was down less than 0.2% at 93. The ICE index is on track to drop nearly 1.6% for the month of November, which would be its worst performance since a 2.9% slide in July.
Crude oil prices settled modestly higher on Thursday, 30 November 2017 after OPEC members and other major oil producers agreed to extend their production-cut pact to the end of 2018.
January West Texas Intermediate crude added a dime, or less than 0.2%, to settle at $57.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices for the contract climbed about 5.1% for the month. Based on the front-month December contract at the end of October, prices rose 5.6%. That was the third-consecutive monthly rise in a row.
January Brent, the front-month contract which expired at the session's settlement, rose 46 cents, or 0.7%, to $63.57 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. For the month, front-month prices ended around 3.6% higher. February Brent which is now the front-month contract, added 10 cents, or nearly 0.2%, to $62.63 a barrel.
In a press conference Thursday, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its oil-producing allies reached a unanimous decision to extend their oil output-cut deal to the end of December 2018. He also said Libya and Nigeria have agreed to cap their production at 2017 levels next year.
On Friday, investors will receive the ISM Manufacturing Index for November (consensus 58.3) and the Construction Spending Report for October (consensus +0.5%); both reports will be released at 10:00 ET. In addition, November auto and truck sales will be released throughout the day.
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