United States Consumer Spending Rises 0.5% in September

News Event

From Trading Economics: Consumer spending in the United States increased 0.5 percent in September from August of 2016, following a 0.1 percent fall in the previous period. It is the biggest gain in three months, in line with market expectations. Personal Spending in the United States averaged 0.54 percent from 1959 until 2016, reaching an all time high of 2.80 percent in October of 2001 and a record low of -2 percent in January of 1987. Personal Spending in the United States is reported by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Market Snap

Market Closing Wrap

In European Equity Markets stocks fell for a sixth straight session on Monday, with energy stocks tracking weaker crude oil prices and financial stocks losing ground. Europe's STOXX 600 fell 0.5 percent, ending its second month of losses. Spain's benchmark IBEX index fell 0.6 percent after lawmakers agreed to grant conservative leader Mariano Rajoy a second term as prime minister. Financials came under pressure after some banks posted disappointing earnings, with the sector index falling 0.7 percent. Shares in UniCredit, Natixis and Royal Bank of Scotland fell 2.5 to 3.8 percent. Swiss company Sika rose 12 percent after saying it had won the latest round in a takeover battle with Saint-Gobain, whose shares were down 1 percent.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar rose against a basket of major currencies on Monday on reduced worries over the FBI's investigation of more emails linked to Hillary Clinton's use of a private server, while persistently low Japanese government bond yields also boosted the greenback. The dollar's rebound was modest, with the currency last up just 0.28 percent against the yen at 104.98 yen. The euro was last down 0.35 percent against the dollar at $1.0945 after hitting an 11-day high of $1.0992 in early trading. Against the Swiss franc, the dollar was up just 0.14 percent at 0.9894 franc. The Mexican peso was last up 0.23 percent at 18.9160 pesos per dollar. The dollar index was last up 0.27 percent at 98.611.

In Commodities Markets  oil prices fell more than $1 a barrel on Monday to hit one-months low on doubts about OPEC's planned production cut and a build in U.S. crude inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma storage hub. Officials from the OPEC and non-member producers met in Vienna on Saturday, but did not come to specific terms, agreeing only to meet again before a scheduled regular OPEC meeting on Nov. 30. Brent's front-month contract was down $1.50 at $48.20 a barrel. It hit $48.17, its lowest since Sept. 29. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were trading down $1.31 at $47.39 a barrel after falling to $47.36, the lowest since Sept. 30.  Spot gold was down 0.3 percent at $1,272.33 an ounce.

In US Equity Markets  stocks were little changed on Monday as investors desisted from taking large positions ahead of the outcome of the U.S. election next week. The S&P 500 was up 0.08 percent, at 2,128.18 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.08 percent, at 5,194.42. Nike fell 3.2 percent after BofA Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock.  General Electric was up 0.61 percent after it said it would merge its oil and gas business with oilfield services provider Baker Hughes. Baker Hughes was down 1.8 percent. Level 3 Communications rose 4.3 percent after CenturyLink said it would buy the company in a deal with an equity value of about $24 billion. CenturyLink fell 10.5 percent.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury prices gained on Monday on safety buying sparked by greater uncertainty over next week's U.S. presidential election and demand for bonds for month-end portfolio rebalancing. Benchmark 10-year notes were last up 3/32 in price to yield 1.83 percent, down from 1.85 percent late on Friday. The yield on Italian 10-year bonds rose two basis points to 1.68 percent, having earlier risen to 1.70 percent, the highest since June 24. Benchmark German 10-year bund yields were little changed at 0.16 percent, while those on similar-maturity Spanish debt declined two basis points to 1.21 percent.

Source: Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management