· The Nasdaq snapped an 11-day streak of gains on Friday after some late-session weakness, but the S&P 500 and the Dow scratched out record closing highs with slight gains as a year-end rally chugged along.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 23.87 points, or 0.08%, to 28,645.26, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.11 points to 3,240.02 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 15.77 points, or 0.17%, to 9,006.62.
With only two trading days left for the year, the benchmark S&P 500 has climbed more than 29% so far in 2019, its biggest annual percentage gain since 2013. Trading volume has been thin during the holiday-shortened week and could continue to be sparse through the New Year’s holiday on Wednesday.
Investor expectations that the United States and China will soon sign a Phase 1 trade deal has added momentum to the stock market heading into 2020.
· Edward Yardeni is questioning the market’s win streak.
The long-time bull believes the record rally will take a breather because valuation multiples are getting back to nosebleed altitudes.
“I’m concerned about a possible melt-up here,” the Yardeni Research president told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Friday. “I’ve been shooting for 3,500 for the S&P 500 by the end of next year, and we’re getting closer. Faster than I would have expected.”
And the consequences could be downright painful.
″[A] 10% to 20% [correction] would be quite possible if this market gets to 3,500 well ahead of my schedule,” he said.
Yardeni said he has been worrying about the rally for a couple of months.
· Asia Pacific stocks mostly traded lower on Monday — the last full trading day of the year in several major markets in the region.
Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.32% in early trade, while Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 fell 0.76%.
South Korea’s Kospi bucked the trend, rising 0.15%.
Overall, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.12%.
In Hong Kong, trade data for November is set to be released on Monday as protests continue to take a toll on its economy.
China’s central bank over the weekend said that it will use the loan prime rate as a new benchmark for pricing current floating-rate loans, which analysts say could lower borrowing costs and boost growth, according to a Reuters report.
Monday’s session in Asia follows fresh record highs in U.S. stocks last week amid year-end optimism in markets.
Markets in Japan and South Korea will be closed tomorrow, on New Year’s Eve. Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore will close early by around mid-day.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
Thai
Eng