The stock markets in the United States fluctuated and eventually ended the trading session higher except the S&P 500, down 0.01%. Investors are evaluating economic data and the weakness of the commodity sector.
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Today is the final full trading session for the week as the U.S. equity markets will be closed tomorrow for the Thanksgiving Holiday. On Friday, the stock markets will be closed at 1:00 in the afternoon.
In an interview with Bloomberg, David Donabedian, the chief investment officer at Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management commented that today’s economic data confirm a “moderate expansion.”
According to Donabedian, “It’s a typical mixed bag of economic news. Markets continue to be focused not just on the Fed, but global central bank policy, with the ECB meeting coming up next week.”
[drizzle]The Department of Commerce reported that the orders for non-military goods excluding aircraft increased 1.3% in October. The orders for all durable goods rose 3%.
Jacob Oubina, a senior U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets, commented that the data showed “some momentum as we head into the fourth quarter.”
Yesterday’s economic data showed that the U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) climbed at an annual rate of 2.1% in the third quarter. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index dropped further to 90.4 in November from 99.1 last month. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home-Price Index climbed 5.5% in September, the biggest 12-month gain since August 2014.
Nick Ford, a fund manager at Miton Group in London, said, “It looks as though we’re going to go into the New Year with a fairly solid backdrop. The U.S. is economy doing OK. The GDP number that came out this week was reassuring.” He added that he will not be surprised to see a decent market rally by year-end.
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) – 17, 813.66 (+0.01%)
- S&P 500- 2,088.92 (-0.01%)
- NASDAQ- 5,116.14 (+0.26%)
- Russell 2000- 1,197.97 (+0.77%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,462.06 (+1.54%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 6,337.64 (+0.96%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 11,169.54 (+2.15%)
Asia-Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 19,847.58 (-0.39%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 22,498.00 (-0.40%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 3,781.61 (+0.74%)
Stocks in Focus
The stock price of Deere & Company climbed almost 5% to $80.00 per share. The world’s largest farm equipment manufacturer reported fourth-quarter earnings and fiscal 2016 earnings estimate that exceeded the expectations of Wall Street analysts. Deere & Company posted net income of $351.2 million or $1.08 per share for the fourth quarter. For fiscal 2016, the company expected to achieve $1.4 billion in net income.
The shares of HP Inc plummeted almost 14% to $12.64 per share. The company’s guidance for its first fiscal quarter as a standalone company was lower than expected. The company estimated that it will be able to deliver earnings in the range of $0.33 to $0.38 per share, below that $0.42 per share expected by analysts for the first quarter.
Macy’s gained nearly 2% to $40.38 per share. CEO Terry Lundgren said the recent challenges that affected the company’s stock created a buying opportunity for long-term investors.
The stock price of Tesla Motors rose more than 5% to $229.64 per share. Analysts st Credit Suisse believe the stock has a potential upside of 49% as they set a price of $325 per share.
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