A four-day pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas...
A four-day pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip began Friday as Hamas released 24 hostages (13 Israeli women and children, 10 Thai nationals, and one Filipino citizen) while Israel released 39 Palestinian women and children detainees. The exchange is part of a short-term cease-fire deal brokered by Qatar and marks the first time fighting has temporarily halted between the two sides since Hamas captured more than 240 people during a surprise cross-border attack seven weeks ago.
During the duration of the pause, Hamas is set to free at least 50 hostages in exchange for the release of at least 150 Palestinians held in Israel's prisons. Israel has said the truce could be extended for an extra day for every 10 hostages released. At least 137 trucks carrying aid and fuel also entered Gaza Friday through the Rafah crossing as part of the agreement, with UN officials calling the humanitarian convoy the biggest since Hamas' Oct. 7 raid.
The energy sector is off to a mixed to lower start, pressured by weakness in the underlying commodities while the major equity futures hover near the flatline. U.S. stock index futures were largely muted in a shortened trading session for Thanksgiving, although Wall Street looked on course to extend its weekly winning run on optimism that U.S. interest rates have peaked.
WTI and Brent crude oil futures are extending declines for the second-straight session as traders remained cautious ahead of next week's OPEC+ meeting, which could bring some kind of agreement on output cuts in 2024. Both contracts were on track for their first weekly gain in five weeks as OPEC+ prepares for a meeting that will have output cuts high on the agenda after recent oil price declines on demand concerns and burgeoning supply, particularly from non-OPEC producers.
Natural gas futures are down in early trading as healthy supplies and high storage levels offset cooler temperature forecasts.
Black Friday on Wall Street: Markets operating on abbreviated schedule
Major U.S. stock exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange...
Major U.S. stock exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, are set to close equity trading at 1 p.m. Eastern Friday in an abbreviated session. Bond traders will also see an early finish, with trade group Sifma calling for a 2 p.m. close for fixed-income markets.
Thanksgiving week, unsurprisingly, is often characterized by light volume, which can make for choppier markets. Data going back to 1950 shows that despite the abbreviated trading, the S&P 500 SPX has seen an average move of plus or minus 1.5% during Thanksgiving week, not far off the average of 1.6% for all five-day trading periods, according to E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.
U.S. stocks have seen a robust rally so far in November, with the S&P 500 index exiting correction territory on Monday as it finished less than 1% away from its 2023 closing high set on July 31.
IEA: Global oil market faces potential shift in 2024
The International Energy Agency anticipates that the current oil market deficit will turn into a modest...
The International Energy Agency anticipates that the current oil market deficit will turn into a modest surplus next year even with potential extensions of OPEC+ production cuts. "Global oil stocks are at low levels, which means that you risk increased volatility if there are surprises on either the demand side or the supply side," said IEA Head of Oil Industry and Markets Division Toril Bosoni.
Benchmark U.S. crude oilfor January delivery fell 67 centsto $77.10 per barrel Wednesday. Brent crude for January delivery fell 49 cents to $81.96 per barrel.
Wholesale gasoline for December delivery was unchanged at $2.23 a gallon. December heating oilfell 3 cents to $2.89 a gallon. December natural gasrose 5 cents to $2.90 per 1,000 cubic feet.