Market Commentary - Foreign Markets
Strong industrial production data and optimism around Trump's second term fuel market gains with semiconductor and retail stocks leading the rally.
The Nasdaq surged 291.91 points or 1.5% to 19,630.20, the S&P 500 jumped 59.32 points or 1.0% to 5,996.66 and the Dow climbed 334.70 points or 0.8% to 43,487.83.
The strength on Wall Street may also have reflected optimism about the outlook for the markets under President-elect Donald Trump, who is due to be sworn in for the second time on Monday. The Federal Reserve released a report showing industrial production increased by much more than expected in the month of December. It also said industrial production jumped by 0.9% in December after rising by a revised 0.2% in November.
Semiconductor stocks turned in some of the market's best performances, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 2.8%. Applied Materials (AMAT) posted a notable gain after KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded its rating on the company's stock to Overweight from Sector Weight. Retail stocks were significantly strong, as reflected by the 1.5% gain posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index. Banking, brokerage and software stocks were notable strong while pharmaceutical stocks showed a substantial move to the downside.
Asia-Pacific stocks turned in another mixed performance. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.3% while China's Shanghai Composite Index crept up by 0.2%. The major European markets also showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index surged by 1.4%, the German DAX Index shot up by 1.2% and the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1%.
In the bond market, treasuries pulled back near the unchanged line after seeing early strength. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by less than a basis point to 4.609% after hitting a low of 4.56%.
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