market:
- Gold falls $9 to $2,643
- US 10-year bond yield flat at 4.39%
- WTI crude oil, down 55 cents to $70.16
- S&P500 fell 0.4%
- DJIA falls for 9th straight day, worst consecutive decline since 1978
- Japanese yen leads, Australian dollar lags
It has been difficult to determine what is behind the various movements in the market today. We're counting down to the end of the year, but we're also counting down to tomorrow's Fed decision and the Bank of Japan's decision shortly thereafter. All of these events are exciting flows, but they will be the last big tradable events of the year.
Retail sales were strong on the day, but did not accelerate as much as some had hoped. Auto sales were surprisingly strong, probably due to price cuts and discounts, but restaurant sales were soft, perhaps as a warning to consumers. Still, the way the November calendar fell and the impact of last month's hurricanes (particularly on car sales) made it a difficult month to interpret, and the US dollar didn't move much on this announcement.
In Canada, a slight softening in the headline CPI numbers contributed to the extraordinary decline to a four-year low. Having said that, the Australian dollar underperformed the outliers, so despite the political turmoil unfolding, I doubt there was much power at play within the country.
USD/JPY fell despite yields being flat. There was some degree of risk aversion involved as many in the market highlighted some red flags regarding sentiment and range. Dow has fallen for 9 consecutive days, Mag 7 is showing slight gains Selection subject Lift something heavy.
The euro and pound moved in opposite directions as some optimism about the UK economy continued to emerge.
