All the news you need to stay informed about what’s currently driving the market – courtesy of Raffa Wealth Management, LLC.
US Stocks posted their first weekly decline since the election. The S&P 500 fell 1.0% and the Dow edged up 0.1% for the week. Internationally, Japan ticked up 0.3% and Europe declined 0.9% for the week. The yield on the 10 year Treasury ended the week at 2.39%, up slightly from last week. The yield hit a 17 month high during the week. On the news that OPEC agreed to a production cut oil rose 12% over the week. Article
The pace of hiring remained steady in November with 178,000 jobs added, in line with expectations. The unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in nine years at 4.6%. However, the labor force participation rate declined. Earnings fell 0.1% from October, but are up 2.5% over the past year. Article
Auto sales rose 3.5% in November driven by black Friday deals.
US home prices in September have finally surpassed their previous record high set in July 2006 according to the S&P Case-Shiller home price index.
Third quarter GDP growth was revised to 3.2% from the previously projected 2.9%, above economist expectations. Article
China’s factory output continued to expand in November as fiscal stimulus has aided economic growth.
OPEC reached an agreement to cut oil production by 1.2 million barrels a day sending crude prices soaring over 8%. The cuts were greater than analysts expected. Article
With nearly all S&P 500 firms reporting, profits rose 4.2% from last year and sales picked up 2.6%.
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