Benchmark U.S. crude oil for January delivery rose $1.45to $77.86 per barrel Wednesday. Brent crude for January delivery rose $1.42 to $83.10 per barrel.
Wholesale gasolinefor December delivery rose 5 cents to $2.28 a gallon. December heating oilfell 2 cents to $2.89 a gallon. January natural gasfell 4 centsto $2.80 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Stocks end mostly lower, but head for big monthly gains
Stocks ended mostly a shade lower on Wednesday but remained on...
Stocks ended mostly a shade lower on Wednesday but remained on track for the biggest monthly gains of 2023.The Dow Jones Industrial AverageDJIA eked out a gain of around 14 points, or less than 0.1%, to close near 35,431, according to preliminary figures. The S&P 500SPX fell 0.1%, while the Nasdaq CompositeCOMP shed 0.2%. The S&P 500 has rallied 8.5% so far this month, while the Nasdaq is up 11%, which would be the biggest monthly advance for both indexes since July 2022, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The Dow is up 7.2% in November, which would be its strongest monthly showing since October 2022.
Most market strategists would agree those are some strange bedfellows. But the torrid November rally in stocks is starting to morph into something more frothy, analysts say, and both speculative and defensive assets are getting taken along for the ride.
Some have described it as the latest leg of an “everything rally”fueled by a broad macro bet on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts beginning early next year.
The energy sector is off to a higher start, supported by strength in the crude complex...
The energy sector is off to a higher start, supported by strength in the crude complex and the major equity futures as investors attempt to extend November’s rally during the last week of the month.
WTI and Brent crude oil futures are adding to yesterday’s gains on tomorrow’s OPEC+ meeting, supply disruptions caused by a storm in the Black Sea, and on last night’s API print. OPEC+ is expected to decide 2024 oil policy tomorrow after the meeting had been delayed from November 26th. A severe storm in the Black Sea region has disrupted up to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil exports from Kazakhstan and Russia, according to state officials and port agent data. Traders will also be gauging crude inventories as last night’s API data showed crude stocks fell 817K barrels, meanwhile, Reuters expects the total inventory figure to fall 933K barrels.
Natural gas futures are lower on the first day of trading for the January front-month contract amid a combination of warmer weather, weaker feed gas flows, and record production.
Hamas released a fifth group of hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross yesterday as part of an extended two-day cease-fire deal between the militant group and Israel. Twelve hostages were released in exchange for Israel's release of 30 Palestinian prisoners. Since the pause in fighting began Friday, 180 Palestinian prisoners, 61 Israeli hostages, and 20 foreign national hostages have been released.