Currency Market Wrap
As of Fri 6th Dec, Singapore Time zone UTC+8
U.S. Dollar Index, -0.22%, 97.39
USDJPY, -0.12%, $108.72
EURUSD, +0.23%, $1.1104
GBPUSD, +0.42%, $1.3159
USDCAD, -0.20%, $1.3175
AUDUSD, -0.26%, $0.6833
NZDUSD, +0.22%, $0.6543
U.S. Initial claims for the week ending November 30 dropped by 10,000 to 203,000 (consensus 221,000). Continuing claims for the week ending November 23 increased by 51,000 to 1.693 million.
China’s Commerce Ministry said Beijing has maintained close contact with the U.S., which Treasury Secretary Mnuchin indirectly backed up when he told reporters that talks remain on track after a recent phone call. The latest sticking point, according to The Wall Street Journal, is the value of farm goods the U.S. wants China to purchase. The latter report caused a brief dip in the market, but stocks quickly recovered on the presumption that discussions are still moving toward a Phase One deal.
U.S. Treasuries finished the session on a lower note. The 2-yr yield increased one basis point to 1.59%, and the 10-yr yield increased two basis points to 1.80%. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.22% to 97.39. WTI crude finished little changed at $58.45/bbl as OPEC+ convened in Vienna to discuss production cuts.
Stock Market Wrap
S&P500, +0.15%, 3,117.43
Nasdaq, +0.05%, 8,570.70
Nikkei Futures, +0.28, 23,342.5
Yesterday’s outright leader was the lightly-weighted S&P 500 materials sector (+0.7%). Conversely, the energy sector (-0.5%) succumbed to broad-based selling while the consumer staples sector (-0.2%) was pressured by earnings-driven losses in Kroger (KR 26.80, -0.84, -3.0%) and Brown-Forman (BF.B 63.57, -4.27, -6.3%).
Notable gainers included Apple (AAPL 265.58, +3.84, +1.5%) and Nike (NKE 95.79, +2.07, +2.2%) after the stocks received positive-minded analyst recommendations. Apple’s price target was raised to $300 from $250 at Citigroup. Nike was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs and was placed on its Conviction Buy List.
The biotech space also had some noteworthy moves. Sage Therapeutics (SAGE 60.18, -89.03, -59.7%) tanked after a Phase 3 study did not meet its primary endpoint for major depressive disorder, while Aurinia Pharma (AUPH 15.00, +6.61, +78.8%) surged following a positive Phase 3 result for a lupus drug. Biogen (BIIB 299.39, +9.87, +3.4%) provided a well-received update for its Alzheimer’s drug.