CURRENCY MARKET WRAP
As of Thu 5th Dec, Singapore Time zone UTC+8
U.S. Dollar Index, -0.13%, 97.60
USDJPY, +0.18%, $108.83
EURUSD, +0.01%, $1.1083
GBPUSD, +0.89%, $1.3110
USDCAD, -0.77%, $1.3194
AUDUSD, +0.31%, $0.6849
NZDUSD, +0.41%, $0.6548
U.S. ISM Non-Manufacturing Index decelerated to 53.9% in November (consensus 54.8%) from 54.7% in October. Key takeaway from the report is that it was underpinned by accelerating growth in both the New Orders Index (to 57.1% from 55.6%) and the Employment Index (to 55.5% from 53.7%), which is not what one would expect to see if it was believed the economy was at a recession tipping point.
ADP Employment Report for November showed an estimated 67,000 positions were added to private-sector payrolls. That was much weaker than the consensus estimate of 175,000.
Risk appetite was bolstered on Wednesday, as the market reacted positively to a Bloomberg report that suggested a trade deal with China is close to being reached despite the recent escalation in rhetoric.
Details were scant and the sources were anonymous, but the positive-sounding headline proved enough to catalyze yesterday’s positive bias. Trump even said that talks are moving along nicely, which may have reinforced the good mood and helped the market overlook an ADP Employment Change Report and ISM Non-Manufacturing Index for November that missed expectations.
U.S. Treasuries retreated after a big advance yesterday, driving yields higher in a curve-steepening trade. The 2-yr yield increased four basis points to 1.58%, and the 10-yr yield increased seven basis points to 1.78%. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.13% to 97.60.
STOCK MARKET WRAP
S&P500, +0.63%, 3,112.76
Nasdaq, +0.54%, 8,566.67
Nikkei Futures, +0.27, 23,293
All 11 S&P 500 sectors had traded in the green, led by the energy sector (+1.6%), but a late fade into the close did knock the materials sector (-0.04%) into the red. Energy stocks rose in tandem with oil prices ($58.42, +2.29, +4.1%), which were boosted by news that OPEC+ is considering deeper production cuts.
Notable corporate leadership changes were also viewed favorably by shareholders.
Alphabet’s (GOOG 1320.54, +25.26, +2.0%) CEO Larry Page and President Sergey Brin stepped down from management and ceded CEO duties to Sundar Pichai in addition to his current CEO role at Google. Expedia’s (EXPE 105.56, +6.17, +6.2%) CEO Mark Okerstrom and CFO Alan Pickerill resigned at the board’s request.
On the earnings front, Campbell Soup (CPB 48.47, +0.89, +1.9%) hit a 52-week high after it beat earnings expectations. Salesforce (CRM 156.43, -5.14, -3.2%) and Workday (WDAY 165.39, -8.11, -4.7%) both beat top and bottom-line estimates and provided decent guidance, but shares still finished noticeably lower.