Santa Claus rally still on

US stock markets ended higher on Tuesday as oil prices rebounded. The dollar strengthened in thin trading. According to live dollar index data the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, rose 0.2% to 98.16. The S&P 500 gained 1.1% with all 10 major sectors closing in positive territory, led by technology and health-care stocks. Google and Amazon hit all-time highs, gaining 1.5% and 2.8% respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1%. The Nasdaq Composite Index rallied 1.3% led by biotechnology stocks. In economic news, US home price gains quickened in October, with the Case-Shiller 20-city composite index posting a 5.5% annual gain for the three-month period ending in October after a 5.4% growth for the period ending in September. Meanwhile the advance goods trade deficit narrowed to $60.5 billion in November from $61.3 billion in October as imports decreased more than exports. The consumer confidence index rose to 96.5 from upward revised 92.4 in November. On Thursday the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will observe regular trading hours, will be closed on Friday, January 1, and regular trade will resume on Monday, January 4. Today at 13:00 CET Mortgage Applications will be released in US. At 16:00 CET November Pending Home Sales will be released. The tentative outlook is positive.
European stock markets closed sharply higher on Tuesday. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rallied 1.4% but is still on track for a 4.1% loss for December. UK’s FTSE 100 closed up 1% with home builders advancing after severe flooding in northern England. Shares of Berkeley Group Holdings and Persimmon rallied 2.7% and 3.4% respectively. Germany’s DAX 30 jumped 1.9% to 10,860.14, and France’s CAC 40 gained 1.8%. The euro weakened 0.4% against the dollar. Deutsche Bank jumped 2.5% after announcing on Monday it will sell its entire stake in Chinese bank Hua Xia Bank for between 23 billion yuan ($3.55 billion) and 25.7 billion yuan. Today at 10:00 CET December Money Supply will be released in euro-zone. The tentative outlook is positive. Tomorrow UK markets close by 13.30 CET, the French and German markets will be closed.
Nikkei gained 0.3% today in the last trading day of 2015 with yen steady at 120.49 against the dollar. The trading was thin with only 1.32 billion shares changing hands, the lowest since April 2014. The index ended 9.1% higher for the year, helped by the US economic recovery and the weaker yen.
Oil prices are retreating today after rallying on Tuesday on colder weather forecasts for parts of the northern hemisphere. The WTI for delivery in February rose 2.9% to $37.87 a barrel on New York Mercantile Exchange. February Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange jumped 3.2% to $37.79 a barrel, still on track for a more than 34% drop in 2015. Today at 16:30 CET US Crude Oil Inventories will be released by Energy Information Administration, stockpiles are expected to rise almost 3 million barrels according to the American Petroleum Institute industry group report on Tuesday.
Gold prices are lower today after edging higher on Tuesday. The safe haven metal is set to end 2015 down about 10% on expectations of further US interest rate hikes which hurt the demand for the non-interest-paying asset.