Today was a mixed session in the markets…a pattern that has been predominant lately. The DOW went up to a new record high and exceeded the performance of the other major indices. The DOW closed up 45 points to end at 22,203.
This was the 38th record close of the year for the DOW. It was helped along the way higher by gains in BA, at a new all-time high, and other industrial issues like 3M and UTX. In addition, energy components CVX and XOM gained on crude oil touching $50 a barrel for the first time in a month. JNJ added to the DOW’s pleasure by rising 1.3% today.
On the other hand, the NASDAQ fell 31 points as recent gains in AMZN and PCLN were reversed and AAPL could not get out of its own way. AAPL has closed lower in seven out of the past eight sessions.
Breadth numbers were slightly positive today while the VIX inched down to 10.44..
Investors might have gotten a little spooked by some very bellicose statements out of North Korea this morning. These comments probably accounted for the small weakness in the dollar.
Economic reports showed that the August C.P.I. rose by more than expected with a 0.4% advance. The core rate, which excludes food and energy, was ahead by 0.3%.
Weekly jobless claims fell back to 284,000 from last week’s Hurricane Harvey’s inflated number. Some people are making the argument that with energy prices higher and this inflation report more than expected…it makes it more probable that the Fed could make a move in December…but certainly not next week.
Bond yields were surprisingly the same today with the 10-year Treasury Note at 2.20%. The dollar lost a little ground against both the Euro and the Japanese yen. Gold closed 5 points higher at $1,333 an ounce.
Donald M. Selkin
Don Selkin is the Chief Market Strategist at Newbridge Securities Corporation, member FINRA/SIPC and provides the Fair Value analysis for CNBC each morning. The commentary provided in this Market Letter is intended to provide timely market analysis and should not be considered a research report. This Market Letter may contain, and is limited to: Discussions of broad based indices; Commentaries on economic, political or market conditions; Technical analyses concerning the demand and supply for a sector, index or industry based in trading volume and price; Statistical summaries of multiple companies’ financial data, including listings of current ratings; and, Recommendations regarding increasing or decreasing holdings in particular industries or securities. This Market Letter does not make a financial or investment recommendation or otherwise promotes a product or service of the firm. This Market Letter contains only news, facts, and commentary on information previously reported from a news source believed to be accurate and reliable by the author. These news sources include the following: Bloomberg Financial, Reuters, and the Associated Press. These are excerpts from Don Selkin’s Daily Market Notes, abbreviated and updated with permission from the author.