US indices closed higher on Tuesday lifted by shares in the Commercial & Professional Services (+1.51%), Real Estate (+1.44%) and Household & Personal Products (+1.28%) sectors. On the economic data front, Wholesale Inventories month over month change rose by 0.2% as expected for the October preliminary reading, up from a revised decline of -0.7% in the prior reading. New Home Sales came in at 733K, above the 705K estimate for October, down from a revised 738K in September. Conference Board Consumer Confidence fell to 125.5, below the 127.0 consensus for November, down from a revised 126.1 reading in October.
On Wednesday, economists expect MBA Mortgage Applications for the week ending November 22nd, Gross Domestic Product Annualized third quarter second reading, and the October preliminary reading for Durable Goods orders. Also, Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending November 23rd and Continuing Claims for the week ending November 16th, are both anticipated lower. Additionally expected is Personal Income and Personal Spending data for October, the Market News International Chicago Business Barometer for November, and finally the Fed is awaited to release their last Beige Book for the year.
European markets are expected to open on a flat note.
Foreign Exchange
The US dollar was bearish against most of its major pairs on Tuesday, with the exception of the CHF, GBP and JPY. On the economic data front, Wholesale Inventories month over month change rose by 0.2% as expected for the October preliminary reading, up from a revised decline of -0.7% in the prior reading. New Home Sales came in at 733K, above the 705K estimate for October, down from a revised 738K in September. Conference Board Consumer Confidence fell to 125.5, below the 127.0 consensus for November, down from a revised 126.1 reading in October. On Wednesday, economists expect MBA Mortgage Applications for the week ending November 22nd, Gross Domestic Product Annualized third quarter second reading, and the October preliminary reading for Durable Goods orders. Also, Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending November 23rd and Continuing Claims for the week ending November 16th, are both anticipated lower. Additionally expected is Personal Income and Personal Spending data for October, the Market News International Chicago Business Barometer for November, and finally the Fed is awaited to release their last Beige Book for the year.
The Euro was bullish against most of its major pairs with the exception of the NZD, AUD and CAD. In Europe, in Germany, the GfK Consumer Confidence Index for December was released at 9.7 (9.6 expected) from 9.6 a month earlier. In the U.K., the British Banker’s Association reported October finance loans for housing at 41.219 billion pounds (vs 42.200 billion pounds expected).
The Australian dollar was bullish to flat against all of its major pairs.
Commodities
After the close of Wall Street, WTI Crude Future (JAN 20) was about flat to $58.36. The contract was above its 20D MA (@ $56.91) and above its 50D MA (@ $55.56).
Gold was up $7.5 to $1462.8. The precious metal was below its 20D MA (@ $1475) and below its 50D MA (@ $1489).
Copper Future (MAR 20) on Comex was up 3.5c to 269.65c/lb. The contract was above its 20D MA (@ 266.89c) and above its 50D MA (@ 264.01c). In Europe, the London Metal Exchange reported its copper inventories decreased 1900 tons to 212300 tons.