The final week of November was eventful, both domestically and internationally. In the United States, the news began to come fast and furious on Tuesday morning as the Consumer Board (CB) released its latest consumer confidence figures. Over the past month, confidence increased from 99.1 to 102, which was a full point higher than analysts expected prior to the release.
The Richmond Manufacturing Index was also released on Tuesday and came in at a negative five. Analysts had expected the final tally to be one, which was still two points lower than last month’s figure of three. Finally, FOMC member Waller was among many to speak on Tuesday, and he said that rate cuts were conceivable if economic trends continued to show inflation coming down.
On Wednesday, preliminary gross domestic product (GDP) figures were released. During the third quarter, the economy grew by an estimated 5.2 percent, which was higher than the 4.9 percent predicted prior to the release.
Thursday saw another slew of data released including unemployment claims and the PCE Price Index. Unemployment claims rose to 218,000 compared to 211,000 a week ago while the PCE Price Index came in at an increase of .2 percent compared to last month.
Friday saw the release of the ISM Manufacturing Prices and ISM Manufacturing PMI data. The ISM Manufacturing PMI came in at 46.7 percent while the ISM Manufacturing Prices report came in at 49.9 percent. Also on Friday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell made remarks at two different events. During the morning event, he said that further tightening could be warranted. He also said that inflation could get back down to 2 percent without the need for a significant loss of jobs.
Internationally, Australia reported on Tuesday night that its inflation rate dipped to 4.9 percent on an annualized basis. In Germany, inflation dropped by .4 percent monthly while inflation also eased in Spain falling .4 percent to 3.2 percent on an annualized basis. Lower inflation figures were also reported in Italy and France this week, and throughout the Eurozone, inflation was 3.6 percent annually.
The Dow had another strong week as it would gain more than 2 percent to close at 36,245. It would make its low of the week on Monday afternoon at 35,306 and would continue to climb for the next four trading days making a high of 36,250 on Friday afternoon.
The S&P 500 would also finish in the black for the week but would achieve more modest gains. For the week, the market was up .78 percent to close at 4,594. It would make an initial low of the week on Tuesday at 4,544 that would be taken out on Thursday when the market hit 4,540. The market made an early high on Wednesday at 4,587 that was taken out on Friday when the market hit 4,595.
Finally, the Nasdaq would also remain mostly flat for the week gaining .35 percent to finish at 14,305. It made a high on Wednesday reaching 14,421 while making it’s low on Friday morning when it dropped to 14,142.
Oil had another volatile week making a high of about $80 on Wednesday before making a low of $74.38 on Friday. For the month, oil prices stayed in a tight range amid concerns about the conflict in Israel and how it might affect global oil supply and demand.
On Tuesday, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report will be issued while unemployment claims data is scheduled for release on Thursday. Nonfarm payroll numbers will be released on both Wednesday and Friday, and these reports tend to lead to increased volatility in the markets.