Wall Street closes with moderate losses
The US equity markets are still struggling to find a clear direction. With moderate losses, they continued their subdued performance from Friday at the end of a strong week. Investors are waiting for further interest rate hints from the Fed.
Investors on Wall Street held back in anticipation of important economic data. The Dow Jones index of blue chips had lost 0.2 percent to 35,333 points by the close. The broader S&P 500 was also down 0.2 percent at 4550 points. The Nasdaq technology index remained in positive territory for a long time before closing 0.1 percent lower at 14,241 points.
"The market is preparing for an eventful week. We see that investors are hesitant," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. Investors were waiting for further indications of the next move by the US Federal Reserve. They are hoping for this from Thursday's price index for private consumer spending, the central bank's preferred inflation indicator. The low trading volumes after Thanksgiving also played a role, said Axel Rudolph, market analyst at broker IG.
Gold at a six-month high
"US interest rates are expected to have peaked, suggesting that it is time to get out of the dollar," said Colin Asher, economist at Mizuho Bank. Against this backdrop, the dollar index fell. Overall, the currency lost 3.16 percent over the course of November. Gold benefited from this, as the precious metal is traded in dollars on the global market. At its peak, the price climbed by 0.8% to 2017.82 dollars per troy ounce, its highest level in six months.
On the crude oil market, WTI from the USA fluctuated sharply up and down. It fell by up to two percent to 74.06 dollars per barrel and then closed at 74.98 dollars. Market participants were eagerly awaiting a meeting of Opec+, which includes the members of the oil export cartel as well as other producing countries such as Russia. Market sentiment remains negative in view of the dispute within OPEC+ over production quotas, said ING analysts. "The risk appetite to bet on crude oil ahead of the official announcement of an agreement is low," said energy analyst Rebecca Babi from asset manager CIBC.
Online retailers in demand on "Cyber Monday"
E-commerce stocks were in focus on "Cyber Monday", the most important shopping day for online retailers in the USA. According to experts, record sales of up to 12.4 billion dollars are expected. Industry giants such as Amazon and Walmart gained 0.7 and just under 0.5 percent respectively. Increased online business also boosted the financial services provider Affirm. Its shares gained almost twelve percent.
According to analysts, this was due to the strong use of the "order now, pay later" option, which reached an all-time high and significantly increased purchases during the holiday season. Crown Castle also rose 3.4 percent following an intervention by activist hedge fund Elliott. In a letter, the investor called on the cell tower owner to make a comprehensive management change and rethink its fiber strategy. According to insiders, the US hedge fund owns a stake of two billion dollars.
Following the subdued performance on Wall Street, investors are closely monitoring the Fed's interest rate policy, as any indications could impact future market moves. Despite moderate losses, the Dow Jones index closed at 35,333 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also saw decreases.
Anticipating further clues from the Fed, investors are cautiously optimistic about potential changes in US interest rates, which could affect both the strength of the dollar and global stocks.
Source: www.ntv.de
