What Does Today’s Move in Gold Mean For Stocks?
Stock index futures
traded in a choppy sideways fashion for much of the day after
yesterday’s monster run-up. Stocks did take a hit early on, as home improvement
giant Home Depot cut its fourth-quarter
revenue and profit outlook. This brought down the retail sector as well as the
S&P. However stocks futures ended slightly higher by the close. The
March S&P
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910.50 and the March Nasdaq contract
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The dollar slipped back again fears that
President’s Bush’s stimulus package will not draw foreign investment and will
add to the current account deficit. The low-interest-rate environment, the
declining stock market of the last three years, and possible war with Iraq are
likely to discourage foreign investment. The March
dollar index fell 0.57 to 102.86.Â
Treasuries initially looked to close lower for
the second straight day after more evidence suggested that the economy is
gaining strength. After yesterday’s report of the largest rise in manufacturing
activity in 11 years, today the Depart of Commerce reported that construction
spending in November increased 0.3%, beating estimates for a rise of 0.1%.
Construction spending has now rose for three straight months. However this was
not to be, as the 30-year contract
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Crude oil prices once again climbed higher today
after yesterday’s report revealed that the Venezuelan oil strike has cut US
supplies by 10% from last year’s levels. Traders continue to doubt President
Chavez’s claim that full production would be restored in six weeks. According to
Horacio Medina, president of Unapetrol, oil production is currently at 172,000.
This is well below the pre-strike level of nearly three million barrels a day. February
Crude
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February gold busted out of its recent pullback
amid increasing tensions of war. February gold
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