The last day of November finds equities looking to finish a strong month off on a positive note. In the last month, the S&P 500 has gained 10.5%, the NASDAQ Composite has gained 12.8%, and the S&P/TSX Composite is up 7.4%. US index futures are up 0.3%-0.6% this morning, while in Europe, the Dax is up 0.6% and the FTSE is up 0.8%.
There is a lot of economic and business news for investors to digest this morning. US Core PCE inflation, the Fed’s preferred measure, came in as expected (3.5% vs previous 3.7%). Core Eurozone consumer prices (3.6% vs street 3.9% and previous 4.2%) also showed inflation pressures easing.
News from Canada has been mixed today. Q3 GDP contracted by 0.3% from the previous quarter and also fell on an annualized basis (-1.1% vs street 0.2% and pervious 1.4%). Canadian bank earnings have been mixed today with RBC ($2.78 vs street $2.62), and CIBC ($1.57 vs street $1.53) beating expectations, while TD ($1.83 vs street $1.90) missed. All three banks raised their dividends and RBC raised loan loss provisions. Beats and misses are now tied 2-2 with BMO and National Bank reporting tomorrow.
With reports coming out around today’s OPEC+ meeting that at least some of the existing production cuts are likely to be extended into 2024, the prices of WTI and Brent Crude Oil are both up about 1.1% so far today. They remain active through the day depending on news and rumors. Metals trading is mixed today with Gold down 0.3% and Copper up 0.3%.
US Chicago PMI (street 45.4) is due at 9:45 am EST today followed by US pending home sales at 10:00 am. Tomorrow morning brings Manufacturing PMI reports from around the world, Canadian employment and wage inflation data, and US construction spending.