Image Souce: Krish Capital Pty Ltd

Index Update

In Thursday's trading, Ulta Beauty shares rose 12% following strong Q3 results, while GitLab and DocuSign saw stock increases of 7% and 14%, respectively. However, the broader market closed lower on Thursday, with the Dow down 0.55%, S&P 500 falling 0.19%, and Nasdaq Composite slipping 0.17%. The materials, industrials, and healthcare sectors led the declines.

Market Movers

On Thursday, the top gainers were  Protara Therapeutics, Inc. (+166.67%), followed by America's Car-Mart, Inc. (+21.42%) and Verint Systems Inc. (+19.6%). On the contrary, nCino, Inc (-15.06%) and    AeroVironment, Inc (-11.12%) declined the most the same day.

Commodities Update

US natural gas futures fell toward $3/MMBtu after a smaller-than-expected storage drawdown of 30 billion cubic feet, below the anticipated 43 billion cubic feet. Prices dropped over 8% this week due to forecasts of warmer-than-normal weather reducing heating demand. December production rose to 102.3 bcfd, still below last year's record. Analysts expect production to grow in 2025, driven by higher LNG export demand.

Macro Update

The US economy is expected to add 200K jobs in November 2024, a strong recovery from October's 12K gain, which was affected by Boeing strikes and hurricanes. The unemployment rate is projected to rise to 4.2%, while wages are forecast to increase by 0.3% month-over-month, slightly lowering annual wage growth to 3.9% from 4%.

Futures Update

US stock futures remained stable on Friday as investors awaited the November jobs report, which could influence the Federal Reserve's December interest rate decision. The nonfarm payrolls report is expected to show a 200,000 job gain, with weaker data possibly increasing expectations for a rate cut.

Bitcoin traded at 98,480 USD on Friday, December 6th, up 1.99% from the previous session. Over the past four weeks, Bitcoin has gained 29.55%, and its price has risen by 126.91% over the last 12 months.

Following new record highs in the previous session, stocks exhibited a somewhat subdued performance on Thursday. The major indices fluctuated around the unchanged mark throughout the day, ultimately closing in negative territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 248.33 points, or 0.6 percent, finishing at 44,765.71. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq decreased by 34.86 points, or 0.2 percent, closing at 19,700.26, and the S&P 500 slipped 11.38 points, or 0.19 percent, to end at 6,075.10. From a technical viewpoint, the S&P 500 is moving within a rising channel, indicating the potential for further gains. The 14-period Relative Strength Index (RSI) remains in positive territory. Key levels to watch include resistance at 6,132 and support at 5,950.

 

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