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S&P 500 rises as Wall Street continues November’s rally

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose on Tuesday to notch their longest winning streaks in nearly two years and build on November’s rally.

The S&P added 0.28 per cent to close at 4,378.38, while the Nasdaq jumped 0.9 per cent to end at 13,639.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 56.74 points, or 0.17 per cent, to settle at 34,152.60.

The S&P rose for a seventh consecutive day for the first time since its eight-day win streak reached in November 2021, while the Nasdaq posted eight days of wins for the first time since an 11-day streak ended in November 2021. The Dow rose for a seventh straight
session for its longest streak since July.

Datadog popped 28.5 per cent for one of its best days on record after topping quarterly results and offering a strong outlook. Uber rose 3.7 per cent even after third-quarter earnings fell short of expectations.

Technology stocks moved higher as yields pulled back, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note last trading about 9 basis points lower at 4.577 per cent. Some notable gainers included Amazon and Salesforce, which rose more than 2 per cent each, while Apple, Microsoft and Meta Platforms gained about 1 per cent. Semiconductor stocks Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom and Intel rose ahead of the rollout of funding from the Chips Act.

Energy and Materials were the worst performing US sectors.

Elsewhere, Wall Street awaits more commentary from central bank speakers, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Quarterly results from Disney, Wynn Resorts and Occidental Petroleum are due out this week.

With the 2024 U.S. presidential election just a year away and the primary season commencing on Jan. 15, Goldman Sachs’ portfolio strategy research team suggests that equity returns tend to be below average in the 12 months leading up to a presidential election, historically showing an average S&P 500 return of only 4 per cent in election years since 1984. Defensive sectors have often performed better during this period, possibly due to the heightened uncertainty associated with presidential election run-ups.

In commodity-related news, US crude prices have dropped nearly 4 per cent to their lowest level since July due to weak economic data, despite concerns of the Israel-Hamas conflict potentially escalating into a broader regional conflict. West Texas Intermediate declined by $3.09 (3.82 per cent) to $77.73 per barrel, while Brent crude decreased by $3.19 (3.75 per cent) to $81.99 per barrel, both reaching their lowest prices since July.
 
Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a flat start

Currency

One Australian dollar at 8:40 AM was buying 64.37 US cents.

Commodities

Gold lost 0.66 per cent. Silver dropped 2.32 per cent. Copper fell 0.87 per cent. Oil dropped 4.12 per cent.

Figures around the globe

European markets closed mixed. London’s FTSE fell 0.1 per cent, Frankfurt added 0.11 per cent, and Paris closed 0.39 per cent lower.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei dropped 1.34 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.65 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.04 per cent lower.

The Australian share market closed 0.29 per cent lower at 6,977.

Ex-dividends
ResMed Inc (ASX:RMD) is paying 5.352 cents unfranked

Dividends payable
Elanor Commercial Property Fund (ASX:ECF)

Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap. 

Disclaimer

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