{+++}Gold is bouncing finally and MEE is really popping along with other coal names. The housing number was weak but the market has so far shaken it off. Don’t forget half day tomorrow in the trading pits.
US Market Update
Dow -9 S&P 0.15 NASDAQ +7
– US equity markets opened higher for 4th straight session as traders continued to push indices to the highs of the year in thin pre-holiday trading. Equity markets gave back much of the gains following a disappointing November new home sales figure. That along with another muted inflation reading seen in the November PCE data has allowed bond prices to lift. The 10-year yield dropped back below 3.7% briefly. The Dollar has seen some selling following the data sending the Euro back above 1.43 and the Dollar Index down a 0.3%. Dealers continue to watch the EUR/CHF cross 1.4850 level (SNB original intervention point in March) as key after a move through 1.49 overnight. The energy complex was firmer heading into weekly inventory readings and prices advanced further after crude and distillate stocks were drawn down more than expected. Feb crude has moved back above $76 for the first time in 2 weeks.
– Tech has been the best performer of the early session helped by earnings reports from Red Hat and Micron. Both companies reported better than expected results on both the top and bottom lines and showed margin expansion. Shares of Cintas are declining by 11% are noting they expect a difficult operating environment to carry into the 3rd quarter and it was cut to a neutral at JP Morgan.