CURRENCY MARKET WRAP
As of Thu 2nd Jan, Singapore Time zone UTC+8
U.S. Dollar Index, -0.22%, 96.53
USDJPY, -0.24%, $108.62
EURUSD, +0.12%, $1.1212
GBPUSD, +1.11%, $1.3261
USDCAD, -0.60%, $1.2988
AUDUSD, +0.39%, $0.7022
NZDUSD, +0.18%, $0.6738
U.S. Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index slipped to 126.5 in December (consensus 128.0) from an upwardly revised 126.8 (from 125.5) in November.
In trade news, Trump said the Phase One deal will be signed at the White House on Jan. 15 and that he will later travel to Beijing for Phase Two talks. Market reaction was muted, as the signing news was already priced in.
U.S. Treasuries finished the thinly-traded session on a lower note. The 2-yr yield increased one basis point to 1.57% (-93 bps for 2019), and the 10-yr yield increased two basis points to 1.92% (-77 bps for 2019). The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.22% to 96.53. WTI crude declined 0.3%, or $0.16, to $61.48/bbl (+35.4% for 2019).
STOCK MARKET WRAP
S&P500, +0.29%, 3,230.78
Nasdaq, +0.30%, 8,972.60
Nikkei Futures, +0.30%, 23,512.5
S&P 500 advanced 0.29% on this New Year’s Eve, wrapping up a phenomenal 2019 with a 28.9% gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite, and Russell 2000 also increased 0.3% apiece to extend their yearly gains to 22.3%, 35.2%, and 23.7%, respectively.
Tuesday’s action was tight-ranged amid a lack of conviction for most of the session, but renewed buying interest in the last hour of trading helped stocks close at session highs. All 11 S&P 500 sectors finished in positive territory, with the materials (+0.8%), energy (+0.7%), and real estate (+0.6%) sectors advancing the most.
Corporate news was relatively light, but it’s worth noting that Apple (AAPL 293.65, +2.13, +0.7%) extended its yearly gain to an impressive 86.2%. NVIDIA (NVDA 235.30, +2.98, +1.3%) had its price target raised to $275 from $240 at The Benchmark Company. Meritor (MTOR 26.19, +2.87, +12.3%) will join the S&P SmallCap 600 on Jan. 6.