(As of 7:30 am PST)
Stocks are off to a great start this week as investors
applauded upbeat manufacturing data ahead of the Fed’s final policy meeting of
the year. After a quiet week last week,
markets welcomed a barrage of economic data to kick off trading this week. Manufacturing activity in the New York area,
as measured by the Empire State Index, recovered after slipping in
November. Industrial production climbed
1.1% in November, the highest 1 month gain in over a year and surpassing its
pre-recession high. Utilities output
soared in November likely due to the unusually cold weather that persisted
throughout the nation. Capacity
utilization, which is a measure of productivity, rose as well in November. Tomorrow kicks off a two day policy meeting
from the Federal Reserve which will have the attention of global
investors. For weeks now, the “taper
talk” has been focused on this week, with many analysts and money managers
disagreeing on the Fed’s next course of action.
Asian markets finished the day lower, while Europe is riding higher on
the heels of the optimism in the US.
Gold is higher as is oil.
Interest rates have ticked higher while the US dollar is down. It’s a good start to the week, but with a lot
of action still ahead, we’ll see if the markets can hold on to these
gains.
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