Friends
This afternoon Reuters reported that OPEC has reached a deal to limit oil production starting in November. Confusion reigned as “experts” attempted to determine the size of the potential “cut” in production and just what that will mean for oil prices as we move towards the end of the year. Stocks had been mainly drifting aimlessly until the OPEC report, but buoyed by a lofty rise in energy shares, the market averages moved higher into the close.
For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 110 points to close at 18,338. The S&P 500 was up 11 points to finish the day at 2171. Gold was down $4 to trade at $1,326 per ounce, while the aforementioned oil was up a whopping $2.05 to trade at $46.72 per barrel WTI.
So, the oil news was a surprise today and the bulls needed something to stir up a little interest. The durable goods number this morning was better than expected, but that’s about the only good thing you could say about it other than there was at least a strong surge in defense capital goods. In the end, today was all about oil, and as we know, any euphoria can be fleeting. Let’s see how oil and the markets trade tomorrow.
Have a nice evening everyone.
