US stock index mixed: S&P down ~0.1%
Materials lead S&P sector gainers; Utilities down the most
STOXX 600 up 0.3%
US dollar, bitcoin down; Oil, gold up
US Treasury 10-year yield up at 4.193%
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WALL STREET FLAT AHEAD OF INFLATION DATA THIS WEEK
Wall Street shares are trading little changed on Monday, retreating from all-time closing peaks last Friday amid strong corporate earnings forecasts with a key inflation report - the consumer prices index report - the main event this week.
The November CPI inflation report will land on Wednesday, followed by producer prices on Thursday, the last major data ahead of the Federal Reserve's December policy meeting.
The consensus is for a 0.3% rise in the headline CPI number from 0.2% in October, and a core figure of 0.3%, unchanged from the previous month. PPI, on the other hand, is seen edging 0.2% higher for the month of November.
The overall consensus is for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by 25 basis points as inflation is seen moving toward's the central bank's inflation target, and despite a U.S. labor market that is still consistently creating jobs.
Wall Street's main indexes opened December on a broadly upbeat note, with the biggest winner of all — the S&P 500 which has surged 28% in 2024. It is also outpacing earnings growth by nearly a four-to-one measure, according to Dave Rosenberg, founder and CEO of Rosenberg Research. He adds in a note to clients that it is also "on pace for back-to-back annual jumps of more than 20% for the first time since a four-year stretch that ended in 1998."
Analysts also point out that at this time last year, the consensus for the end of 2024 for the S&P 500 was 4,900 — and it is now flirting with 6,100 for a 24% differential.
Rosenberg points out that this is reminiscent of all the "catching up" the analysts did back in the late 1990s. Momentum chasing hasn't just gripped the "fast money" investor community, he says, but the analysts and strategists as well.
Here is an early morning snapshot:
(Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss)
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FOR MONDAY'S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:
THE U.S. - RARELY SO EXCEPTIONAL - CLICK HERE
ROTATION AWAY FROM WALL STREET: CATALYSTS MISSING! CLICK HERE
EUROZONE STOCKS OUTPERFORMANCE WON'T TAKE MUCH IN 2025 CLICK HERE
STOXX GETS CHINA LIFT CLICK HERE
EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: QUIET START, ECB COMING INTO VIEW CLICK HERE
MARKETS KEEP CALM AS SYRIA FALLS IN A RUSH CLICK HERE
US early snapshot https://tmsnrt.rs/49soDxC
