Friends
Oil prices surged today after OPEC agreed to cut oil production by 1.2 million barrels per day (the agreement was announced but is evidently not official yet), which would represent the first production cut by OPEC in eight years. This news caused energy shares to soar and they joined the financials in taking stock prices higher in early trading. But weakness in technology shares weighed on the NASDAQ and put a damper on the overall market feel.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1 point to finish the day at 19,123. The S&P 500 was down 5 points to close at 2,198. Gold was down $16 to trade at $1,174 per ounce, while the aforementioned oil was up $3.66 to trade at $48.89 per barrel WTI. Nat Gas was up $.028 to finish trading at $3.343.
More good economic data hit the tape as the ADP private payroll number was better than expected, as was the personal income number and the Chicago PMI number. Despite today’s disappointing finish for stocks, it was a great month for the market averages. The Trump victory spurred a buying surge that we haven’t seen in some time, and in stocks that hadn’t moved in some time. Will the bulls be able to keep the momentum into the Holidays and end of the year? Well, December trading begins tomorrow, so let’s see.
Have a nice evening everyone.
