Rally poised to continue if retail sales hold up
LAST week, US stock indices finished near record highs, thanks to strength in the US economy and the European Central Bank's promise of further stimulus. The rally should continue this week as long as retail sales don't disappoint.
A mixed October jobs report last Friday - jobs growth slowed but the unemployment rate dropped to a near-optimum 5.8 per cent - went against the grain of recent stats. Industrial and gross domestic product data suggest that second-quarter momentum was carried through to the third quarter. By all measures but wage inflation, the economy is booming.
Friday's retail sales data should confirm this boom. After all, the conditions for spending could hardly be better. Despite the patchy October report, jobs are more plentiful than at any time since the halcyon days of the late 1990s, consumer confidence is soaring and, significantly, given how much Americans spend on petrol and heating fuel, oil prices are falling fast.
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Capital Markets & Currencies
Singapore shares open in the red on Tuesday; STI down 0.3%
Stocks to watch: Wilmar, MLT, FEHT, CDLHT, Starhill Global Reit, IReit Global
Europe: Stocks eke out gains after German inflation data; Deutsche Bank drops
US: Stocks end higher, extending rally
Yen surges against US dollar on suspected intervention
Singapore stocks start week in the black ahead of Fed meeting; STI up 0.1%