Eight out of ten sectors end in the green led by financials and industrials sectors
U.S. stocks ended little higher on Monday, 09 December 2013 sending the S&P 500 to a record close, as investors were largely unfazed by a trio of Federal Reserve officials suggesting a stimulus reduction could come next week. The major indices stood their ground (for the most part) amid a lack of conviction from buyers and sellers alike.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 5.33 points, or less than 0.1%, to close at 16,025.53, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 6.23 points, or 0.2%, to 4,068.75. The S&P 500 index rose 3.28 points, or 0.2%, to 1,808.37.
Eight out of ten sectors ended in the green led by financials and industrials sectors. The utilities and the consumer discretionary sectors were the only sectors to end the day in red figures.
Apple and Google were key drivers of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite while ExxonMobil, Chevron and Goldman Sachs were key drivers specifically of the price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average.
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Three Federal Reserve Bank Presidents - Lacker (Richmond), Bullard (St. Louis), and Fisher (Dallas) gave speeches today that touched on their economic views, but ultimately none of them surprised the market with their thinking.
On a related note, the Federal Reserve released a report today that showed household net worth hit a record high $77.3 tln in the third quarter. The stock market showed little reaction to the report.
Among major stocks under focus, McDonald's was a notable blue chip laggard following the company's report that comparable sales in its US business declined 0.8% in November (they were up 0.5% overall). Separately, food services company Sysco enjoyed a strong day with investors applauding its decision to buy US Foods for a total consideration of $8.2 bln.
Traders and investors are already looking forward to next week's meeting (December 17-18) of the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee (FOMC). Recent upbeat U.S. economic data, including a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report on Friday, suggests the Fed might move up its timeline for implementing a tapering of its monthly bond-buying program, also called quantitative easing, including some who think the Fed will announce a tapering at next week's FOMC meeting.
In overnight news from the European Union, German industrial production showed a surprising decline of 1.2% in October from September. This was well short of market place expectations of a rise of 0.8%. Greece's GDP contracted by 3.0% in the third quarter, on an annualized basis. After six years of contraction, Greece's GDP is forecast to rise just a bit in 2014.
Bullion prices ended moderately higher at Comex on Monday, 09 December 2013. Gold futures settled a bit higher on Monday, rebounding after losses over the past two trading sessions, as traders mulled the timing of a pullback in the Federal Reserve's bond-buying program following the latest comments from central bank officials.
Gold for February delivery tacked on $5.20, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,234.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. March silver closed up 18 cents, or 0.9%, at $19.70 an ounce.
Nymex oil prices settled lower on Monday, 09 December 2013. It was their first loss in seven sessions as comments from Federal Reserve officials raised the possibility that the central bank will make the decision next week to taper its stimulus program. Nymex prices had found earlier support on Monday from Chinese data showing a strong gain in petroleum imports. Traders also eyed developments linked to Iran and its potential to add to global oil supplies.
Crude oil for January delivery fell 31 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $97.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after spending much of the session seesawing between minor losses and gains. Prices tallied a 5.3% gain last week
Indian ADRs ended higher on Monday. In the banking space, ICICI Bank gained 5.03% at $40.48 and HDFC Bank rose 2.16% at $36.48. In the IT space, Infosys was down 0.52% at $55.19 and Wipro gained 1.01% at $12.03. In the other sectors, Tata Motors advanced 0.47% at $32.28 and Dr Reddys Laboratories was up 0.1% at $40.60.
Tomorrow's economic calendar features the Wholesale Inventories and Job Openings reports for October.
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