MARKET SNAPSHOT

U.S. stocks closed mixed as new economic data beat expectations. Treasury yields rose and the dollar stregthened after a new tariff threat from President-elect Donald Trump. Oil futures were little changed, with upbeat manufacturing data from China lifting prospects for energy demand. Gold settled lower.

MARKET WRAPS

EQUITIES

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed to new records as investors reacted to a batch of freshly released economic data that beat Wall Street's forecasts.

Manufacturing activity in the U.S. contracted for an eighth-straight month in November, but new orders returned to growth. Spending on construction projects hit a record high level in October.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, the Nasdaq Composite gained 1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 0.3%

Earlier Monday, Chinese shares closed mixed as investors awaited the December central government work conference for signals on the country's 2025 GDP target and potential measures to boost the economy.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.1%, while the Shenzhen Composite Index declined 1.8% and the ChiNext Price Index fell 1.4%. Auto stocks led gains, supported by continued robust sales in November.

Hong Kong shares ended higher, with the Hang Seng Index adding 0.7%. Investors are waiting for economic data releases this week, including Hong Kong's PMI due Wednesday. Tech stocks led gains.

Japanese stocks advanced, led by financial shares, as hopes grow for more rate increases by the Bank of Japan. The Nikkei Stock Average added 0.8%.

Stocks in Australia rose, as the S&P/ASX 200 increased 0.1%.

New Zealand's NZX-50 closed 0.4% higher, with large-cap gains offsetting weakness among property and aged-care stocks.

COMMODITIES

Oil futures ended mixed after the Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers index, a measure of factory activity in China, indicated expansion for the second straight month.

West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery rose nearly 0.2%, to settle at $68.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

February Brent crude fell by a penny to settle at $71.83 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.

"This could be a pivotal week for the crude oil market," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com. "With key U.S. economic data on the horizon and the OPEC+ meeting later this week to discuss oil production targets, market participants are bracing for significant developments."

Front-month gold settled lower, with the contract dropping 0.8% to $2,634.90 an ounce.

New tariff threats from President-elect Trump were a factor affecting most commodities in trading, leading some analysts to question their assumptions around gold continuing its rise in 2025.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

U.S. Factory Activity Contracts as Demand Remains Weak

Manufacturing activity in the U.S. contracted for an eighth-straight month in November, albeit at a less sharp pace, reflecting the challenge for the incoming Trump administration to revive the struggling industrial sector.

The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its purchasing managers' index of manufacturing activity was 48.4 in November, up from 46.5 in October, which marked a low for 2024. November's reading was, however, better than expectations of 47.5 from a consensus of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.

"Demand remains weak, as companies prepare plans for 2025 with the benefit of the election cycle ending. Production execution eased in November, consistent with demand sluggishness and weak backlogs," said Timothy R. Fiore, chairman of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.

Fed's Waller Is Leaning Toward a December Rate Cut

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Monday that even though declines in inflation have been stalling, he is still leaning toward lowering interest rates further this month.

In remarks prepared for delivery at the American Institute for Economic Research Monetary Conference, Waller said that while the recent uptick in inflation does raise concern that price growth could get stuck above the Fed's 2% goal, he doesn't want to overreact.

The Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index, ticked up to a year-over-year increase of 2.3% in October from 2.1% in September. The increase in the core PCE measure, which excludes food and energy prices and is considered a better gauge of inflation trends, was 2.8% year over year. That is up from the 2.7% pace in September.

Data-center and manufacturing booms credited as U.S. construction spending hits record high in October

Spending on construction projects rose 0.4% in October to $2.17 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal expected construction spending to rise 0.2% in October.

Over the past year, construction spending was up 7.2%.

GM to Exit Michigan EV Battery Plant

General Motors is backing out of a nearly completed electric-vehicle battery plant in Michigan, agreeing to unload its stake in the new plant to its Korean partner, LG Energy Solution.

Plans for the $2.6 billion facility, sprawling over about 30 football fields in Lansing, Mich., were disclosed in 2022, when the Detroit automaker had designs on producing one million EVs by 2025. The automaker has since shelved that target because of slower-than-expected demand for fully electric vehicles.

Automakers globally have been dialing back electric-car investments they outlined earlier this decade amid surging demand for battery-powered vehicles. Now the market faces further uncertainty as President-elect Donald Trump vows to cut government funding for EVs.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger Resigns After Struggling to Turn Around Chip Maker

Intel Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger retired abruptly, ending a nearly four-year run that saw the chip maker fall behind rivals in building semiconductors to power the artificial-intelligence boom.

The company on Monday said it named Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, general manager of Intel's client computing group, as interim co-CEOs. The board has formed a search committee to find a permanent successor to Gelsinger, 63 years old, who stepped down Sunday.

Gelsinger's exit comes in the middle of his multiyear turnaround strategy to build a so-called foundry business manufacturing chips for other companies. At the same time, Intel's stock has underperformed both the market and rivals. Strategic missteps and missing out on the artificial-intelligence boom have combined to reshape the fortunes of the company, which reportedly was a takeover target earlier this year.

Super Micro Says Accounting Review Clears Management, Plans to Replace CFO

Super Micro Computer shares rose after the company said a final review showed no evidence of fraud or misconduct by its management or board relating to accounting issues that have dragged on the stock in recent weeks.

The server maker also said Monday that it would appoint a new chief financial officer, one of several recommendations that a special committee suggested to strengthen corporate governance and support the company's rapid growth.

Super Micro shares were up nearly 22% in midday trading, to $39.68. The stock is now up more than 40% this year.

Volkswagen Workers Begin Striking as Labor Dispute Escalates

Thousands of workers at Volkswagen sites across Germany participated in warning strikes on Monday as a conflict with management escalated over the carmaker's plans to slash jobs, cut pay and close factories.

As of Monday afternoon, the IG Metall union said about 66,000 employees at nine German plants had taken part in the strikes, halting production. At the company's main plant in Wolfsburg, about 35,000 workers joined the warning strikes, walk-outs that usually last a few hours. The union said it would update numbers on Tuesday to account for participation later in the day.

Volkswagen employs around 300,000 workers in Germany and operates 10 plants in the country.

Expected Major Events for Tuesday

00:30/AUS: 3Q International Investment Position

00:30/AUS: 3Q Balance of Payments

08:30/HK: 3Q Quarterly Statistics on Vessels, Port Cargo & Containers

21:00/SKA: Nov International Reserves

22:00/AUS: Nov Australia Services PMI

22:00/AUS: Nov Australian PMI

22:00/AUS: Nov Australian PCI

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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 02, 2024 16:41 ET (21:41 GMT)

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