Benchmark U.S. crude oilfor January delivery fell $2.71 to $68.61 per barrel Tuesday. Brent crude for February delivery fell $2.79 to $73.24 per barrel.
Wholesale gasoline for January delivery fell 6 cents to $1.98 a gallon. January heating oilfell 10 cents to $2.51 a gallon. January natural gasfell 12 cents to $2.31 per 1,000 cubic feet.
(Tuesday market close) The S&P 500® index (SPX)...
(Tuesday market close) The S&P 500® index (SPX) and other U.S. equity benchmarks extended gains Tuesday to reach the highest levels since early 2022 as investors shrugged off slightly higher-than-expected inflation readings and Federal Reserve policy leaders began a two-day meeting that's expected to end with no increase in benchmark interest rates.
Early Tuesday, the Labor Department said the overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.1% in November from October, contrary to expectations the headline number would hold unchanged. Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, met expectations with a 0.3% increase.
Here's where the major benchmarks ended:
TheS&P 500 index was up 21.26 points (0.5%) at 4,643.70; the Dow Jones Industrial Average®(DJI) was up 173.01 points (0.5%) at 36,577.94; the Nasdaq Composite® (COMP) was up 100.91 points (0.7%) at 14,533.40.
The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) was down about 3 basis points at 4.206%.
The Cboe® Volatility Index(VIX) was down 0.56 at 12.07.
Labor Department data show average hourly pay for frontline oil and natural gas workers climbed 1.3%...
Labor Department data show average hourly pay for frontline oil and natural gas workers climbed 1.3% month over month and 5.4% year over year to a record $44.11 in October. Analysts expect US oil producers to keep capital spending at levels similar to this year, with Evercore ISI projecting a modest 2% increase to around $115 billion in 2024.
Netanyahu and Biden Voice Divisions Over War’s Next Steps
A divide between Israel and the United States,...
A divide between Israel and the United States, its closest ally, burst into the open on Tuesday as President Biden warned that Israeli leaders were losing international support for their war in Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected out of hand the American vision for a postwar Middle East.
With civilians in Gaza being killed at a historic rate in the Israel assault, Mr. Biden warned in an address in Washington that the international community was turning against the Israeli government.
Inflation data released on Tuesday showed that price increases remained moderate in November, the latest sign that inflation has cooled substantially from its peak. That’s likely to keep the Federal Reserve on track to leave interest rates unchanged at its final meeting of the year, which takes place this week.
The Consumer Price Index came out just as the Fed begins its two-day gathering, which will conclude with the release of an interest rate decision and a fresh set of quarterly economic projections at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, is then scheduled to hold a news conference.