Market Summary: The long & the short of it.
The U.S. Markets awoke on Friday to some positive news. Firstly, a stronger than expected reading of the October jobs report enhanced bullish spirits in the markets. Secondly, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said the world’s two largest economies could reach “consensus on principles” during a “serious and constructive” telephone call between the main trade negotiators.
The S&P 500 rallied on the news, setting a closing record for the third time in five days, the S&P 500 closed at 3,066 and a gain of +0.97%. The New York Composite (NYA) followed in the footsteps of the S&P and closed out at 13,300 for a gain of +0.98%, just 337 points or 2.50% shy of its record, set on Jan- 21-2018.
U.S. Treasury yields rose across the curve to give back a portion of yesterday’s sharp rally. The 10-year ended Friday’s session at 1.728, up +2.19%. Treasury Yields have an inverse correlation to their price when the price goes down the yield goes up.
Gold traded sideways for most of the Friday session and closed out at $1516 an ounce, for a small gain of +0.13%. The action in the Silver market was very much the same and the metal concluded the day at $18.11 an ounce, for a gain of +0.24%. Crude Oil (WTI) rallied during the trading session on Friday, reaching towards the upper half of a large consolidation area. The rare bullish bounce came after reports that the rig count fell once again and China released some positive manufacturing data. Both (WTI) and (Brent) Crude were up by more than 3.5% at the close. WTI closed out today’s session at $56.23 a barrel.
European markets finished higher today with shares in London leading the region. The UK’s FTSE 100 was up 0.75%, while the German DAX rose 0.73% and finally and the French CAC 40 edged upwards by 0.56%.
Asian markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Chinese Shanghai Composite gained +0.99% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose +0.72% closing at 27,100. The Japanese Nikkei 225 lost -0.33% to close at 22,805 and India’s Mumbai Sensex gained +0.09%.
South American markets finished broadly higher today with shares in Mexico leading the region. The IPC pushed up 1.10% while Brazil’s Bovespa climbed 0.91%.
Bitcoin managed to trade back above $9,000 to close at 9,259 for a gain of +0.75%.
Fear was rung out of the markets amidst all the bullishness. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) dropped by -6.96% to close at 12.30.