CURRENCY MARKET WRAP
As of Mon Nov 25th, Singapore Time zone UTC+8
U.S. Dollar Index, +0.31%, 98.27
USDJPY, +0.02%, $108.66
EURUSD, -0.32%, $1.1024
GBPUSD, -0.63%, $1.2832
USDCAD, -0.17%, $1.3281
AUDUSD, -0.01%, $0.6786
NZDUSD, +0.11%, $0.6410
The final November reading for the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index checked in at 96.8 (consensus 94.9), which exceeded the preliminary estimate of 95.7 and the final October reading of 95.5. The November reading is in close proximity to the average level (97.0) since the start of 2017. The key takeaway from the report is the acknowledgment that consumers aren’t anticipating sizable increases in inflation, unemployment, and interest rates, which suggests consumer spending activity should remain supportive for the U.S. economy.
The market heard from both Trump and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi, on Friday. Xi called for mutual respect and equality in talks, but reiterated Beijing is willing to fight back if necessary. Trump said talks are moving along nicely and closing in on a deal, but the president suggested a deal should not be equal and should favour the U.S. instead. The takeaway was that the market still doesn’t know for certain if a Phase One trade agreement will be signed this year, but talks are ongoing and appear to not be escalating.
U.S. Treasuries ended the week on a flat note. The 2-yr yield increased two basis points to 1.63%, and the 10-yr yield was unchanged at 1.77%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.31% to 98.27. WTI crude declined 1.2%, or $0.70, to $57.88/bbl.
STOCK MARKET WRAP
S&P500, +0.22%, 3,110.29
Nasdaq, +0.16%, 8,519.88
Nikkei Futures, +0.35%, 23,130.0
Leading the market in gains were the S&P 500 financials (+0.8%), consumer discretionary (+0.7%), and industrials (+0.5%) sectors. The real estate (-0.5%) and energy (-0.4%) sectors were today’s laggards.
Nordstrom (JWN 37.95, +3.63, +10.6%) and Gap (GPS 16.94, +0.72, +4.4%) were among the biggest earnings-driven gainers in the consumer discretionary space, while an earnings-driven decline in Intuit (INTU 259.81, -11.34, -4.2%) put some pressure on the information technology sector (-0.1%).
Elsewhere, the futuristic design of Tesla’s (TSLA 333.04, -21.79, -6.1%) Cybertruck pickup was met with some confusion and mixed reviews. Ultimately, it appeared to be a sell-the-news case after the stock climbed about 40% in the past month.