US stocks surging into close
Dow Jones tears past 24,000
Gold and US crude lower
Wall Street shares were on a tear and the Dow Jones is up over 286 points or 1.19% going into the close.
It has now shot past the psychologically key 24,000 for the first time - at 24,229.
The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Index is also now on track for its longest streak of monthly gains for over two decades.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is up over 18 points at 2,644.
The Nasdaq is up 37.58 points at 6,862.
In Toronto, the TSX is strongly higher - up over 105 points at 16,072.
US crude is down a tad - 0.02% - to US$57.29 a barrel, and gold is also lower, off 0.70% to US$1,277.20 an ounce.
In equities, L Brands Inc (NYSE:LB) shares added almost 7% to US$56.07.
The Victoria's Secret parent company saw its shares gain in early trade despite disappointing same store sales in November.
In a statement, the company said this month, same store sales dropped by 1%.
Total sales however saw a 2% rise to US$1.267bn in November.
MID-SESSION
Wall Street shares are still powering ahead at mid-session.
The S&P 500 hit a new record high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Index went above 24,000 - also recording another record high.
The Dow is up 344.76, or 1.44% higher at 24,285, while the S&P 500 gained 22.75 at 2,653.
The tech heavy Nasdaq added over 55 points at 6,879.
It comes on optimism about the Senate’s vote on the tax proposals.
Elsewhere, the core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) came in a 1.4%, which was in line with expectations.
"This indicator is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, so since it is rising it is likely to keep the US central bank on their path of monetary tightening," said David Madden, at CMC Markets.
Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD) shares added 2.07% to US$4.30 on the back of third quarter numbers. Sears posted a quarterly net loss of US$558 million, versus the company’s forecast of US$525 million to US$595 million.
READ THE LONDON CLOSE - FTSE 100 closes firmly in red as Wall Street surges; pound gains
OPEN
US shares started on the front foot on Thursday as risk-on sentiment appeared to return on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones added over 85 points to 24,023, while the S&P 500 added almost ten points to 2,635.
The tech heavy Nasdaq index added almost 25 points to 6,848.
US crude - West Texas Intermediate - added 0.59% to stand at US$57.64 each.
Sentiment was probably boosted by relatively static claims in unemployment claims follow the year’s trend to date, with the US labour force seemingly robust.
"With the holiday season upon us, an optimistic outlook, and one that the President will almost certainly peddle, is that the latest figures are indicative of a resilient jobs market heading in the right direction, which is the mainstay of healthy economic growth," said Dennis de Jong, managing director at UFX.com.
In equities, on the S&P 500, Kroger Company (NYSE:KR), the retailer, was top dog - adding over 11% to US$ 27.20 each.
It came after the supermarket chain posted better-than-expected third quarter earnings and revealed it had its best ever ‘Black Friday’.
Net income rose to US$397mln, or 44 US cents a share for the quarter, up from US$391mln, or 41 US cents a year earlier, beating the consensus EPS estimate for 40 US cents.
Kroger’s third quarter sales rose to US$27.749bn, up from US$26.557bn last year,
Kroger Solid Earnings Beat a Sign of Things to Come? Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) reported its fiscal third-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Thursday. The company said that it had $ 0.44 in earnings per share (EPS) a... https://t.co/xA24XIFQOi #ai #iot #realestate pic.twitter.com/FkFQ8ZycV4
— MoneyHealth &Finance (@shopseasonal) 30 November 2017
PREVIEW
Wall Street futures pointed higher today ahead of the open in New York.
The Dow Jones was indicated up 80 points at 23,998 while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are also seen higher.
Meanwhile, the oil market is predicting that today’s OPEC meeting in Vienna will go as expected, with the producer’s cartel extending its price supporting cap on output.
Market expectations ahead of the cartel get-together are for OPEC to extend the current arrangement by a further nine months, taking the cap through to the end of 2018.
It comes amid comments from Saudi Arabia energy minister Khalid al-Falih who is in favour of the proposed extension.