CURRENCY MARKET WRAP
As of Tue 17 Dec, Singapore Time zone UTC+8
U.S. Dollar Index, -0.56%, 96.625
USDJPY, +0.18%, 109.58
EURUSD, +0.10%, 1.1136
GBPUSD, -0.63%, 1.3269
USDCAD, -0.16%, 1.3166
AUDUSD, -0.03%, 0.6873
NZDUSD, -0.02%, 0.6591
U.S. Empire State Manufacturing Survey for December increased to 3.5 (consensus 3.5) from the prior month’s reading of 2.9. China’s industrial production and retail sales figures, which grew faster than expected in November, added to the positive economic outlook also shared by the homebuilders. For instance, the NAHB Housing Market Index hit its highest level since 1999, increasing to 76 in December (consensus 69) from 69 in November.
The initial reaction to the trade deal was muted on Friday, so yesterday was less about the actual deal and more about what it means moving forward: less uncertainty, and optimism, in the economic outlook. This view contributed to Monday’s strong U.S. open, which accounted for most of the day’s gains as the S&P 500 drifted sideways for most of the session.
U.S. Treasuries finished on a lower note, driving yields higher in a curve-steepening trade. The 2-yr yield increased three basis points to 1.53%, and the 10-yr yield increased seven basis points to 1.89%. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.1% to 97.05. WTI crude increased 0.2%, or $0.10, to $60.21/bbl.
STOCK MARKET WRAP
S&P500, +0.50%, 3,194.62
Nasdaq, +0.74%, 8,598.62
Nikkei Futures, +0.59%, 24,032.5
The S&P 500 energy (+1.4%), utilities (+1.3%), and health care (+1.1%) sectors each rose more than 1.0%. The market also continued to draw influential support from Apple (AAPL 279.86, +4.71, +1.7%).
Conversely, the industrials sector (-0.03%) was pressured by weakness in shares of Boeing (BA 327.00, -14.67, -4.3%) and FedEx (FDX 164.10, -1.57, -1.0%) following separate reports from The Wall Street Journal.
Boeing is reportedly considering halting or cutting back production for its 737 MAX amid continued re-certification uncertainty. Amazon (AMZN 1769.21, +8.27, +0.5%) reportedly banned third-party sellers from using FedEx Ground for Prime shipments until delivery performance improves.
In M&A activity, DuPont (DD 64.89, +0.09, +0.1%) agreed to merge its Nutrition & Biosciences unit with International Flavors (IFF 120.00, -13.98, -10.4%) in a combined $45.4 billion deal. WPX Energy (WPX 11.90, +0.99, +9.1%) agreed to purchase Felix Energy for $2.5 billion.