Inside Wall Street’s Crystal Ball – What Moved Markets
U.S. stock indices lit up on Wall Street on Friday after booking its best session in 20 months and its longest winning streak in four years following stronger-than-expected data on the U.S. November jobs report that could test the market's forecast for a soft landing in the world's biggest economy.
At the closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) trading floor, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose +130.49 points, or +0.36%, to 36,247.87.
The broad-based Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added +18.78 points, or +0.41%, to 4,604.37, while the rich-tech Nasdaq Composite Index gained +63.98 points, or +0.45%, to 14,403.97.
Helping the move was powered by tech-rich Nasdaq after Thursday's big boost from a renewed surge in artificial intelligence (or AI-related tech names), including Google, who, a day earlier, leapt after announcing the launch of its latest artificial intelligence offering.
Meanwhile, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) soared nearly +10% after the company estimated the potential market for its data centre AI chips could reach $45 billion this year.
Global markets showed a mixed reaction to the jobs report after Friday's U.S. Labour Department data showed a stronger-than-expected figure after missing the 185,000 forecast and added 199,000 jobs in November, while the unemployment rate declined to 3.7%, compared with the forecast of 3.9%.
The Average hourly earnings, a key inflation indicator, increased by 0.4% for the month and 4% from a year ago.
Friday’s jobs report is one of the last major pieces of data the Fed will get before it announces its next move on interest rates on Wednesday, which is widely expected that the Fed will hold on to its interest rate, along with bets reporting nearly 50% chance that the U.S. central bank will cut rates by March 2024.
A separate preliminary report from the University of Michigan said consumer sentiment strengthened enough to erase all its declines from the prior four months, mainly because of improved expectations for inflation.
On Tuesday, the U.S. government will give the latest monthly update on how high inflation is for U.S. consumers.
In the U.S. government bond markets, the yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set rates for mortgages and other economy-dictating loans, eased rose to 3.23%, while the policy-sensitive two-year yield, which tends to reflect the market expectations of future moves by the Fed, gained to 3.72%.
In other markets, the price of the world's largest cryptocurrency by market value, Bitcoin, continues to eye the near-term challenge (target) at US$49,000,00 after changing hands within the parameters of US$43,077.00 to US$44,756.00, last at US$44,375.00.
Meanwhile, Ethereum, the world’s second-largest blockchain by cryptocurrency market capitalization, remained above the US$2,300 objective after changing hands within a daily range of US$2,337.00 to US$2,390,00 and last at US$2,364.00.
Assessing the technical studies for Ethereum, since the break above the US$2,300.00 resistance, the broader bullish call remains at US$2,700.00 – Reassess from there as profit-taking is expected – which could follow a significant downturn.
Precious metals were weaker, with spot gold at $2,004 per ounce, while silver closed at $23.22.
Energy markets were firmer, with the global benchmark Brent at $76.00 per barrel and the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $71.34.
The U.S. Dollar Index (U.S. DXY), which measures the greenback's strength against six counterparts on the foreign exchange markets, is higher at 103.98.
Meanwhile, the Eurodollar was at 1.0760, and the British pound finished at 1.2546. The Japanese yen ended at 144.96, while the Australian dollar was firmer at 0.6576.
This content is provided by Australian Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) Pty Ltd (AFSC), trading as Crystal Ball Finance. AFSC is a corporate authorised representative (CAR No. 001275455) of ShareX Pty Ltd (AFSL No. 519872).
For information relating to our financial services, you should refer to our Financial Services Guide.
Crystal Ball Finance content is designed as the opinion only and is general in nature. It does not take account of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Nothing in this content shall be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any security or product or to engage in or refrain from engaging in any transaction. There are risks involved in any financial investment and trading strategy, and the value of any investment can and does fluctuate and may even become valueless. You should consider the appropriateness of any investment or trading strategy having regard to your circumstances. We recommend that you obtain financial, legal and taxation advice before making any financial investment decision or applying any trading strategy. This content is based on information obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but we do not make any representation or warranty that it is accurate, complete or up to date. We accept no obligation to correct or update the information or opinions in it. Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. Crystal Ball Finance does not accept any liability whatsoever for any direct, indirect, consequential or other loss arising from any use or application of its content.