U.S. equities finished the final trading session of the week with modest gains, but achieved a fifth-straight weekly advance that has been fueled by the increased optimism of a U.S.-China “phase one” trade deal. However, some of the enthusiasm was tempered amid some pushback from Washington. In earnings news, Dow member Walt Disney gained on its stronger-than-expected results, while Gap suffered after warning that profits will be below the Street’s forecasts. Treasury yields were little changed after a recent rally and the U.S. dollar was higher, with consumer sentiment rebounding further from a three-year low. Meanwhile, crude oil prices were mixed, and gold was lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose 6 points to 27,681, the S&P 500 Index increased 8 points (0.3%) to 3,093 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 41 points (0.5%) to 8,475. In moderate volume, 820 million shares were traded on the NYSE and 2.0 billion shares changed hands on the Nasdaq. WTI crude oil inched $0.09 higher to $57.24 per barrel and wholesale gasoline lost $0.01 to $1.63 per gallon. Elsewhere, the Bloomberg gold spot price was $8.07 lower at $1,460.41 per ounce, and the Dollar Index—a comparison of the U.S. dollar to six major world currencies— rose 0.2% to 98.37. Markets were higher for the week, as the DJIA gained 0.2%, the S&P 500 Index advanced 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite increased 1.1%.
The November preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index rose to 95.7 versus the Bloomberg expectation to remain at October’s read of 95.5. The index continued to rebound off of the near three-year low in August and posted the highest level since July as a decline in the current conditions component of the survey was more than offset by an improvement in the expectations portion of the index. The 1-year inflation forecast remained at October’s 2.5% rate, and the 5-10 year inflation forecast ticked higher to 2.4% from October’s 2.3% pace.
September wholesale inventories were revised lower to a 0.4% month-over-month (m/m) increase, from the preliminary estimate of a 0.3% decline, where it was expected to remain, and compared to August’s upwardly-revised 0.1% rise. Sales were flat, following August’s downwardly-revised 0.1% dip.
Treasuries were little changed after a recent drop partly attributed to the increased trade optimism, as the yield on the 2-year and 10-year notes were flat at 1.67% and 1.93%, respectively, while the 30-year bond rate ticked 1 basis point higher to 2.42%.
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