Retail shares rallied on expectations of strong sales
U.S. stocks closed higher on Monday, 26 November 2018 as retail shares rallied on expectations of strong sales as shoppers went hunting for deals on Cyber Monday. Stable oil prices and global equities gains also soothed sentiment after a bruising week of losses.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 354.29 points, or 1.5%, to 24,640.24, while the S&P 500 index rose 40.89 points, or 1.6%, to 2,673.45. The Nasdaq Composite Index rallied 142.87 points, or 2.1%, to 7,081.85.
Last week, the Nasdaq tumbled 4.3%, the Dow fell 4.4% and the S&P 500 slid 3.8%, marking the worst Thanksgiving week since 2011 for all three indexes.
Financial stocks were among the biggest winners with the sector underpinning the Dow's advance. Goldman Sachs shares rose 2.8% while JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock was up 2.5%.
Losses for oil prices pushed stocks lower last week, and the reverse was true for Monday. The retail industry was in the spotlight as investors digested initial data on consumers' willingness to spend this holiday season after shoppers began deal-hunting in earnest ahead of the holidays.
In-store traffic fell as much as 9% compared with last year's Black Friday. But consumers made up for it by spending more money online, as internet sales rose by 26.4% year-over-year from last Wednesday through Friday. Traders will continue to focus on incoming data on spending on today's Cyber Monday, from retailers.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, was up 0.1% at 97.046 after tapping a low of 96.659.
Meanwhile, traders continued to eye developments in Europe. The European Union has given approval of Britain's divorce from the trading bloc. If the deal is given a green light by Parliament, the U.K. will then be able to focus on negotiations for the new trade and security relations with EU after its official exit in March. U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, however, is seen facing an uphill battle in winning parliamentary approval.
Investors did not receive any notable economic data on Monday. Looking ahead, investors will receive the Case-Shiller 20-city Index for September, the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for November, and the FHFA Housing Price Index for September on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, U.S.-China trade tensions continued to loom over the market ahead of the Group of 20 summit beginning Friday when President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet and discuss trade issues.
Shares of General Motors advanced 4.8% after the car maker announced cost-cutting measures that included layoffs, a reduced vehicle lineup and the closure of U.S. and Canadian plants.
Bullion prices ended lower at comex on Monday, 26 November 2018 at Comes. Gold prices gave up earlier gains to settle slightly lower on Monday, with strength in global stock markets dulling investment demand for the precious metal.
Gold for December delivery traded on Comex edged down by 80 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,222.40 an ounce, after trading as high as $1,228.60. It registered a weekly climb of less than 0.1% on Friday.
December silver also declined by 3.8 cents, or 0.3%, to $14.205 an ounce, after the metal on Friday put in a weekly decline of 0.9%.
Crude oil settled higher on Monday, 26 November 2018 with U.S. prices posting their biggest one-day rise in eight weeksjust after suffering their worst session percentage loss in three years.
January West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.21, or 2.4%, to settle at $51.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In a holiday-shortened session on Friday, the contract plunged 7.7% to settle at $50.42 a barrel, marking the worst percentage loss since July 6, 2015 and the lowest settlement since Oct. 9, 2017. It also marked the seventh-straight weekly dropa fall of 10.6%.
Global benchmark January Brent also rebounded on Monday, up $1.68, or 2.9%, to $60.48 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, after closing down 6.1%, to $58.80 a barrel on Friday. Brent lost nearly 12% during the week.
Investors did not receive any notable economic data on Monday. Looking ahead, investors will receive the Case-Shiller 20-city Index for September, the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for November, and the FHFA Housing Price Index for September on Tuesday.
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