CMC Markets Weekly Report
Stocks in the U.S rose on Friday, with the S&P 500 posting a fourth weekly gain, as a better-than-anticipated report on manufacturing fed thinking of likely monetary-tightening ahead by the Federal Reserve.
Stocks in the U.S rose on Friday, with the S&P 500 posting a fourth weekly gain, as a better-than-anticipated report on manufacturing fed thinking of likely monetary-tightening ahead by the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 69.80 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 15,615, 55 whilst the S&P500 rose 5.1 points, or 0.29 per cent, to end at 1,761.64 and the Nasdaq erased losses to turn positive in the final hour of trade, adding 2.34 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 3,922.04.
Stocks hit session highs as the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index came in at 56.4 in October beat estimates of a drop to 55.0 from 56.2 in September.
In commodity markets, New York oil prices fell to the lowest level since June on surging US crude stockpiles and the dollar's sharp gains after the eurozone reported worryingly low inflation data. New York's main contract West Texas Intermediate light sweet crude for delivery in December fell $US1.77 on Friday, closing at $US94.61 a barrel. In London, Brent North Sea crude for December fell $US2.93 to $US105.91 a barrel.
Gold futures fell, as pressure from a stronger US dollar dampens investor interest in the dollar-denominated metal. The most actively traded contract, for December delivery, on Friday settled $US10.50, or 0.8 per cent, lower at $US1,313.20 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Copper futures ended nearly flat, locking in modest gains for the week as investors bet on higher demand from top consumer China. The most actively traded contract, for December delivery, fell 0.2 cent, or 0.1 per cent, to settle at $US3.2985 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. During the week, the contract rose 0.9 per cent.
The Australian dollar is lower against the greenback, driven by good US data and talk that the US Federal Reserve could begin tapering its economic stimulus program sooner rather than later. The AUD is fetching 94.35 US cents, 69.96 Euro, 93.15 yen and 59.22 British pence.
Locally, in economic news on Monday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases retail trade data for September and house price indexes for the September quarter.
The ANZ job advertisements series for October is due out, as is the TD Securities-Melbourne Institute inflation gauge for October and the Dun and Bradstreet business expectations survey.
In the US, data on factory orders and revisions to durable goods orders are expected.
In equities news, Westpac (WBC) is expected to post full year results, while Whitehaven Coal (WHC) and Navitas (NVT) have annual general meetings scheduled.