Buzz on Business for December 12, 2023

The rally in stocks continued but volume was low as traders wait on the inflation data later today and the Fed Statement tomorrow.

The market seems nervous. Or maybe it’s just me!

Market Report

Stocks closed at new highs for 2023

• The Dow Jones Industrials gained 157 points, 4/10ths of a percent, and closed at 36,405
• The S+P 500 also was up 4/10ths. It closed at 4,622, for a gain of 18 points.
• The Nasdaq Composite had a smaller gain, just 2/10ths of a percent, but a gain nevertheless. It was up 29 points and closed at 14,432
• The XRT Retailers had a great day but not a new high for the Year. They gained $1.11 and start the day today at 68.19.

Bonds were mixed. Rates basically finished unchanged,

• The two-year Treasury closed with a yield of 4.71%, up a minuscule one basis point.
• The twenty-year was flat on Monday, and it yields 4.506%

Oil and Gold

• Oil had a small gain. It was up fourteen cents and closed at $71.34
• Gold, which has been in rally mode since early October, seems to have turned around. It was off $21.00, back below $2000, and a troy ounce will now set you back $1,994.

CPI Data Due Out Today

We get all the CPI data for November at 8:30 am ET today. There’s a lot of it, and analysts and traders will be going through it like a witch doctor pawing through the entrails of a goat.

As we never get tired of saying here at here at Financial Animal, “Wall Street is an expectations game.” These are the expectations:

• The Consumer Price Index, Year over Year: 3.1%, down from 3.2% last month.
• Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, Year over Year: 4.0%
• And Month over Month, CPI: 0.0%

The higher year-over-year numbers result from higher monthly numbers earlier this year, which will soon fall off the back end. If expectations are met!

We will be looking closely at all the numbers this morning as they roll in. Then, we will report it all tomorrow.