Cautious Optimism Lifts Stocks Higher On Wall Street

Barry Adams
11 Jan, 2023
New York City

Benchmark indexes extended recent gains and investors awaited the release of the inflation report on Thursday and major bank earnings on Friday. 

Consumer price index in November rose 7.1% on an annual basis and core inflation excluding food and energy jumped 6.0%,the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last month. 

The December month inflation is expected to hover near 7% and core inflation is expected to edge slightly lower. 

JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of New York Mellon, Citigroup and Bank of America are scheduled to release earnings on Friday. 

 

Indexes In Review 

The S&P 500 index increased 0.6% to 3,941.19 and the Nasdaq Composite index rose 1.0% to 10,845.99.

Crude oil prices rose as much as 2% on the hopes of recovering global demand as business activities in China recover and the government takes steps to support higher economic growth. 

Crude oil increased $1.15 to $78.0 a barrel and natural gas fell 5 cents to $3.58 a thermal unit.

Treasury bond yields edged lower ahead of the inflation report as investors estimated moderating of inflation in December after the recent drop in energy prices. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged lower to 4.25%, 10-year Treasury notes to 3.57% and 30-year Treasury bonds to 3.69%. 

 

Europe Indexes 

European markets advanced on the hopes of rate hikes to moderate and focused on corporate development. 

Sainsbury eased after the retailer reported earnings near the upper end of the guidance but also highlighted consumer weakness in the face of high prices. 

The DAX index added 1.3% to 10,845.99, the CAC-40 index advanced 1.1% to  6,945.02 and the FTSE 100 index edged up 0.7% to 7,747.83. 

The yield on 10-year German Bunds decreased to 2.19%, French bonds decreased to 2.67%, UK Gilts to 3.39% and Italian bonds to 4.03%. 

The euro edged higher to $1.07 and the British pound increased to $1.21. 

Brent crude oil increased $1.37 to $81.45 a barrel and the Dutch TTF natural gas futures contract edged down 6.3% to