The S&P 500 rose Tuesday, putting the broad-based index on pace for its longest winning streak in roughly two years as Wall Street looked to build on November’s rally.
The S&P added 0.4%, rising for a seventh consecutive day for the first time since its eight-day win streak reached in November 2021. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 63 points, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, jumping 1.1%.
Datadog popped 29% for one of its best days on record after topping quarterly results and offering a strong outlook. Uber rose 3% even after third-quarter earnings fell short of expectations.
Technology stocks moved higher as yields pulled back, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note last trading about 9 basis points lower at 4.573%. Some notable gainers included Microsoft, Apple and Amazon, last up at least 1% each. Semiconductor stocks Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom and Intel rose around 2% ahead of the rollout of funding from the Chips Act.
Energy and Materials were the worst performing US sectors.
Elsewhere, Wall Street awaits more commentary from central bank speakers, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Quarterly results from Disney, Wynn Resorts and Occidental Petroleum are due out this week.
With the 2024 U.S. presidential election just a year away and the primary season commencing on Jan. 15, Goldman Sachs' portfolio strategy research team suggests that equity returns tend to be below average in the 12 months leading up to a presidential election, historically showing an average S&P 500 return of only 4% in election years since 1984. Defensive sectors have often performed better during this period, possibly due to the heightened uncertainty associated with presidential election run-ups.
In commodity-related news, US crude prices have dropped nearly 4% to their lowest level since July due to weak economic data, despite concerns of the Israel-Hamas conflict potentially escalating into a broader regional conflict. West Texas Intermediate declined by $3.09 (3.82%) to $77.73 per barrel, while Brent crude decreased by $3.19 (3.75%) to $81.99 per barrel, both reaching their lowest prices since July.
Currency
One Australian dollar at 7:45 AM was buying 64.35 US cents.
Figures around the globe
European markets closed mixed. London’s FTSE fell 0.1 per cent, Frankfurt added 0.11 per cent, and Paris closed 0.39 per cent lower.
Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei dropped 1.34 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.65 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.04 per cent lower.
The Australian share market closed 0.29 per cent lower at 6,977.
Ex-dividends
ResMed Inc (ASX:RMD) is paying 5.352 cents unfranked
Dividends payable
Elanor Commercial Property Fund (ASX:ECF)
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.
