CURRENCY MARKET WRAP 

As of Wed Nov 27th, Singapore Time zone UTC+8

U.S. Dollar Index, -0.07%, 98.25
USDJPY, +0.17%, $109.11
EURUSD, +0.08%, $1.1022
GBPUSD, -0.30%, $1.2860
USDCAD, -0.21%, $1.3271
AUDUSD, +0.10%, $0.6787
NZDUSD, +0.13%, $0.6427

U.S. New home sales in October decreased 0.7% m/m to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 733,000 units (consensus 710,000) from an upwardly revised 738,000 (from 701,000) in September. On a yr/yr basis, new home sales were up 31.6%. The S&P Case-Shiller Housing Price Index for September increased 2.1% (consensus 2.6%) following an unrevised 2.0% increase in August. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for November eased to 125.5 (consensus 126.9) from 125.9 in October, marking the fourth straight monthly retreat.

The Advance International Trade in Goods report for October showed a narrowing in the deficit to $66.5 billion from $70.5 billion in September. Advance Retail Inventories were up 0.3% on top of a 0.2% increase in September and Advance Wholesale Inventories increased 0.2% after declining 0.7% in September.

Risk-appetite was less pronounced than yesterday, but the same factors that have contributed to the market’s record run – trade progress, low rates, low volatility, and supportive monetary policy expectations -remained intact. As for trade, China’s Commerce Ministry said top negotiators held a phone call in which both sides agreed on how to properly resolve outstanding issues for a Phase One deal.

U.S. Treasuries continued to increase, which sent yields slightly lower across the curve. The 2-yr yield declined three basis point to 1.58%, and the 10-yr yield declined two basis points to 1.74%. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.07% to 98.25. WTI crude increased 0.6%, or $0.32, to $58.30/bbl.

STOCK MARKET WRAP 

S&P500, +0.22%, 3,140.52
Nasdaq, +0.18%, 8,647.93
Nikkei Futures, +0.51%, 23,450.0

Leading the advance were the S&P 500 real estate (+1.4%), consumer staples (+0.8%), consumer discretionary (+0.8%), and materials (+0.5%) sectors. The energy (-1.0%), financials (-0.1%), and health care (-0.1%) sectors were the lone holdouts.

Other outperformers in the stock market included the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 44.84, +0.27, +0.6%), which benefited from upbeat earnings forecasts, and the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB 45.89, +0.61, +1.4%), which benefited from new home sales in October coming in better than expected at 733,000 units (consensus 710,000).

Best Buy (BBY 81.57, +7.32, +9.9%), Burlington Stores (BURL 225.97, +17.71, +8.5%), and Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS 46.77, +7.34, +18.6%) impressed investors with their results and guidance, the latter of which is especially important for the retailers with the holiday-shopping season nearly in full swing. Dollar Tree (DLTR 95.26, -17.13, -15.2%) failed to meet expectations.

Separately, several Dow components set new all-time highs today. Walt Disney (DIS 151.64, +1.95, +1.3%) was one of them after the stock was initiated with an Outperform rating at Consumer Edge Research with a price target of $175.