4 Hours Ago
Major indexes head for best monthly performances this year
Despite muted trading on Tuesday, the three major indexes are on track to post major monthly gains.
The Dow is poised to finish the November trading month, which concludes with Thursday’s closing bell, 6.9% higher. That would amount to the best monthly performance since October of 2022, when the blue-chip average added 14%.
The S&P 500 is on pace to end November up by 8.6%. The Nasdaq Composite has outperformed, climbing 10.8% so far in 2023’s penultimate month.
If those performances hold, it would mark the best month for both since July of 2022. During that month, the broad S&P 500 advanced 9.1%, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq jumped 12.4%.
— Alex Harring
4 Hours Ago
Oil settles 2% higher as OPEC meeting speculation moves market
Oil prices rebounded Tuesday as traders speculate about OPEC production cuts while a fierce storm forced Kazakhstan to slash its output.
The West Texas Intermediate contract for January rose $1.55, or 2.07%, to settle at $76.41 a barrel, while the Brent crude contract January gained $1.70, or 2.13%, to settle at $81.68.
OPEC and its allies, OPEC+, are scheduled to meet virtually Thursday, with most analysts expecting the group will at least extend current cuts into 2024.
OPEC delegates told Bloomberg Monday that Saudi Arabia is pressing members to reduce their production quotas but Riyadh is being met with resistance.
“While oil is waiting for the OPEC plus agreement, speculation about a deal or no deal or a surprise cut continues to move markets,” said Phil Flynn with the Price Futures Group.
The upside from cuts should be capped given OPEC members have low appetite for compliance these days, said Tamas Varga with OVM Oil Associates.
Kazakhstan’s largest oilfields, meanwhile, have slashed output by 56% as a storm on the Black Sea disrupts exports.
— Spencer Kimball
5 Hours Ago
Retail stocks outperforming on Tuesday
The early signs of consumer strength at the start of the holiday shopping season appear to be making investors more comfortable with retail stocks.
The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) rose about 1%, on Tuesday, outperforming the broader market and erasing the modest decline the fund suffered on Monday.
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Retail stocks were outperforming on Tuesday.
Among the fund’s top holdings, Foot Locker was one of the best performers, gaining nearly 3%.
— Jesse Pound
7 Hours Ago
IPO pipeline gets crowded again as market rallies into year end
The initial public offering market has picked up once again as interest rates stabilize and the stock market rallies into the year end.
Chinese-founded fast-fashion company Shein has confidentially filed to go public in the U.S. as soon as 2024. Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian’s shapewear label Skims is reportedly discussing strategic options including an IPO that could come next year. Social media firm Reddit has reportedly restarted talks about an IPO.
The slew of action followed mix performance from a handful of big-ticket debuts in the past few months. Shares of grocery delivery company Instacart and German shoe brand Birkenstock have both slid below their IPO price, while chip giant Arm — 2023’s biggest IPO — has seen sizable gains in its share price.
The IPO market experienced a big lull in 2022 and early 2023 as an aggressive Federal Reserve, recession fears and geopolitical risks diminished appetite. Companies are now hoping to test the waters with hopes that the Fed is done hiking and will engineer a soft landing, which would keep the market hot.
— Yun Li