Key Highlights and Analysis for December 1, 2023

Market Wrap: Stocks, Bonds, Commodities

On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 520 points (+1.47%) to 35,950, the highest close year to date. The S&P 500 rose 17 points (+0.38%) to 4,567, while the Nasdaq 100 slid 39 points (-0.25%) to 15,947.

U.S. data showed that core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price inflation, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, slowed further to 3.5% on year in October (as expected).

Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rebounded 7.9 basis points to 4.334%.

Top Gainers in Stock Sectors:

• Health-care equipment & services (+1.57%)

• Insurance (+1.56%)

• Household & personal products (+1.54%)

Top Losers in Stock Sectors:

• Automobiles & components (-1.58%)

• Semiconductors (-1.49%)

• Media (-1.29%)

Notable Stock Movements:

• Tesla (TSLA) fell 1.66% as it delivered its first “Cybertruck” vehicles to customers.

• Nvidia (NVDA) dropped 2.85%

• Alphabet (GOOGL) declined 1.82%

• Meta Platforms (META) was down 1.52%

• Ford Motor (F) declined 3.12% as it lowered profit guidance due to increasing labor costs.

• Salesforce.com (CRM) jumped 9.36%

• Snowflake (SNOW) gained 7.05%

• Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) rose 2.36%

• Snap (SNAP) climbed 6.55%

• Pinterest (PINS) added 2.37%

U.S. Economic Data:

• Personal income and personal spending increased 0.2% on month in October (both lower than expected).

• Initial jobless claims increased to 218,000 (vs 213,000 expected).

• Chicago purchasing managers index bounced to 55.8 in November (vs 44 expected).

• Pending home sales fell 1.5% on month in October (vs -2.5% expected).

European Markets:

• DAX 40: +0.30%

• CAC 40: +0.59%

• FTSE 100: +0.41%

Commodity Prices:

• Oil prices declined as OPEC+ output cuts fell short of expectations. U.S. WTI crude oil dropped $2.16 (-2.77%) to $75.70 a barrel.

• Gold price retreated $7 to $2,036 an ounce.

Market Wrap: Forex

The U.S. dollar regained strength against major currencies, with the dollar index climbing to 103.50.

Currency Pairs:

• EUR/USD pulled back 81 pips to 1.0888.

• GBP/USD dropped 70 pips to 1.2625.

• USD/JPY jumped 94 pips to 148.18.

• AUD/USD dipped 9 pips to 0.6608.

• USD/CHF gained 13 pips to 0.8752.

• USD/CAD slid 26 pips to 1.3563.

Notable Economic Data:

• Eurozone inflation rate slowed to 2.4% on year in November (vs 2.7% expected).

• France's inflation rate declined to 3.4% on year in November (vs 3.7% expected).

• Germany's retail sales grew 1.1% on month in October (vs +0.4% expected).

• Japan's jobless rate declined to 2.5% in October (vs 2.6% expected).

• Japan's enterprises' capital spending increased 3.4% on year in the third quarter (vs +2.1% expected).

• Canada's economy unexpectedly shrank at an annualized rate of 1.1% in the third quarter (vs being flat expected).

Bitcoin Update:

• Bitcoin held steady at $37,700.

• MicroStrategy (MSTR) announced an additional acquisition of 16,130 bitcoins, increasing its total holding to 174,530 bitcoins, the largest among listed companies.

Analyst Views: Dow Jones (CME), EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY

Please note that due to market volatility, some key levels may have already been reached and scenarios played out.

Dow Jones (CME) Intraday:

• Pivot: 35,810.00

• Preference: Long positions above 35,810.00 with targets at 36,200.00 & 36,300.00 in extension.

• Alternative scenario: Below 35,810.00 look for further downside with 35,700.00 & 35,620.00 as targets.

• Comment: The RSI shows upside momentum.

EUR/USD Intraday:

• Pivot: 1.0915

• Preference: Short positions below 1.0915 with targets at 1.0875 & 1.0860 in extension.

• Alternative scenario: Above 1.0915 look for further upside with 1.0930 & 1.0945 as targets.

• Comment: As long as the resistance at 1.0915 is not surpassed, the risk of a break below 1.0875 remains high.

GBP/USD Intraday:

• Pivot: 1.2665

• Preference: Short positions below 1.2665 with targets at 1.2600 & 1.2580 in extension.

• Alternative scenario: Above 1.2665 look for further upside with 1.2685 & 1.2705 as targets.

• Comment: As long as the resistance at 1.2665 is not surpassed, the risk of a break below 1.2600 remains high.

USD/JPY Intraday:

• Pivot: 147.55

• Preference: Long positions above 147.55 with targets at 148.60 & 148.90 in extension.

• Alternative scenario: Below 147.55 look for further downside with 147.20 & 146.85 as targets.

• Comment: The RSI is mixed with a bullish bias.