Global risk assets are advancing this morning as relief over completion of the Phase One US-China trade deal continues to percolate and firming Chinese economic data adds to the upbeat market mood. S&P 500 futures point to a 0.4% higher open, which would set a new record peak for the index and propel year-to-date gains to nearly 27%.
Last Week: #2
Global risk assets posted robust gains overnight as headlines indicate impending resolution of the Phase One US-China trade deal and the decisive Conservative win in yesterday’s UK election cleared the path for an orderly Brexit. S&P 500 futures point to a 0.4% higher open, which would add to yesterday’s 0.9% gain and set a new record peak for the index.
The S&P 500 posted a strong rally today to end a mixed week of trading on a positive note after US nonfarm payrolls for November registered a significant upside surprise. US equities nearly recaptured last Wednesday’s record high after better-than-expected labor market data brightened investors’ growth outlook. Asian and EU stocks also advanced overnight. Continue reading “Afternoon Markets Brief – 12/6/19”
Today’s highly-anticipated nonfarm payroll report featured a blockbuster number of 266k new jobs, handily topping an estimate of 183k and giving the many traders who were playing for a mildly disappointing reading a case of whiplash. But the reflexive selloff in Treasury markets settled down quickly and futures markets are still projecting that the Fed will be back cutting interest rates in the second half of next year. That bond market price action is consistent with a pretty sober outlook for growth in 2020, which matches the broad consensus among economists that US GDP is going to soften modestly to 1.8% from this year’s 2.3%. Continue reading “Looking Ahead – 12/6/19”