Johnson & Johnson and Wal-Mart Stores lead Dow higher
U.S. stocks struggled for direction on Monday, 12 December 2016 with the Dow notching the latest in a string of record closes, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished lower. Major indexes had fluctuated between positive and negative territory with investors appearing reluctant to push shares higher following pronounced gains for Wall Street ahead of a key meeting by the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 39.58 points, or 0.2%, to close at 19,796.43, after setting an intraday record of 19,824.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 31.96 points, or 0.6%, to finish at 5,412.54. The S&P 500 dipped 2.57 points, or 0.1%, to finish at 2,256.96.
Gains in Dow were led by shares of Johnson & Johnson and Wal-Mart Stores. Monday marked the sixth consecutive record close for the average.
Big-name technology shares finished lower on the day, contributing to the Nasdaq's decline. Apple fell 0.6% while Facebook lost 1.6%. Amazon.com fell 1.1%.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise rates on Wednesday. Higher rates typically cause the dollar to strengthen, which often weighs on commodities priced in dollars. Rate increases also can peel investors away from gold because it doesn't pay interest.
On Monday, the ICE U.S. Dollar Index was down nearly 0.7%, providing some support for dollar-denominated gold prices. But year to date, the index has climbed over 2%.
Today's economic data was limited to the Treasury Budget statement for November, which showed a deficit of $137 billion while the consensus expected a deficit of $135 billion.
Oil futures rallied to their highest close in nearly 17 months on Monday, 12 December 2016 after more oil-producing nations agreed to slash production, a move aimed at pushing the oversupplied oil market back into balance, or even a deficit, and prop up prices that have been stuck in a two-year slump.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, January West Texas Intermediate crude climbed by $1.33, or 2.6%, to settle at $52.83 a barrel. February Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, added $1.36, or 2.5%, to $55.69 a barrel on London's ICE Futures exchange. Both WTI and Brent crude logged their highest settlements since July 2015.
Over the weekend, a group of heavyweight producers outside of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, including Russia, agreed to scale back their output by 558,000 barrels a day. The move would come on top of the cut of 1.2 million barrels a day agreed to by OPEC in late November. The total reduction represents almost 2% of the global supply.
Bullion prices ended higher at Comex on Monday, 12 December 2016 at Comex. Gold futures settled higher reversing course from earlier declines after finding support from a weaker dollar ahead of a U.S. interest-rate rise that is expected later this week.
Gold for February delivery edged up by $3.90, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,165.80 an ounce after tapping a low of $1,152.50. The metal has suffered five weekly losses in a row, settling Friday at its lowest level in 10 months. March silver tacked on 22 cents, or 1.3%, to $17.187 an ounce.
Bullion prices ended higher at Comex on Monday, 12 December 2016 at Comex. Gold futures settled higher reversing course from earlier declines after finding support from a weaker dollar ahead of a U.S. interest-rate rise that is expected later this week.
Gold for February delivery edged up by $3.90, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,165.80 an ounce after tapping a low of $1,152.50. The metal has suffered five weekly losses in a row, settling Friday at its lowest level in 10 months. March silver tacked on 22 cents, or 1.3%, to $17.187 an ounce.
Treasuries retreated overnight, but most of the losses were erased intraday, leaving the 10-yr yield higher by a basis point at 2.48%.
Investor participation was above average as nearly 1.2 billion shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.
Tomorrow's economic data will be limited to the 8:30 ET release of November Import Prices ex-oil and Export Prices ex-agriculture.
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