US markets settle higher on Tuesday

20 Dec 2023 Evaluate

The US markets settled higher on Tuesday as San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said interest rate cuts are likely to be appropriate next year because of an improvement in inflation. The Federal Reserve must make sure ‘we don't give people price stability but take away jobs’. Optimism about the outlook for interest rates continued to contribute to strength on markets following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement last week. While the Fed's latest projections pointed to three interest rate cuts next year, investors widely expect the central bank to lower rates more aggressively. On the sectoral front, gold stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.9 percent to a five-month closing high. The rally by gold stocks came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for February delivery climbing $11.60 to $2,052.10 an ounce.

On the economic data front, the Commerce Department released a report this morning unexpectedly showing a substantial increase in new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of November. The report said housing starts soared by 14.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.560 million in November after inching up by 0.2 percent to a downwardly revised rate of 1.359 million in October. The surge surprised participants, who had expected housing starts to decrease by 0.9 percent to an annual rate of 1.360 million from the 1.372 million originally reported for the previous month. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said building permits slumped by 2.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.460 million in November after jumping by 1.8 percent to an upwardly revised rate of 1.498 million in October.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 251.9 points or 0.68 to 37,557.92, Nasdaq surged 98.03 points or 0.66 percent to 15,003.22 and S&P 500 was up by 27.81 points 0.59 percent to 4,768.37.


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