June 19 New York
The DJIA soared by 144.71 points to 21528.99 while the S&P 500 Index rose by 20.31 points to 2453.46. The Nasdaq Composite Index added by 87.255 points to 6239.013 while the Nasdaq 100 Index gained by 90.744 points to 5772.223. A rally in technology shares pushed U.S. markets to fresh highs and hawkish comments from a Federal Reserve official cleared doubts about the strength of the U.S. economy. The Nasdaq 100 Index jumped the most since November, as large-cap tech stocks rebounded from two weeks of declines and the S&P 500 Index climbed to an all-time high. The dollar advanced against its major peers, with the yen the biggest laggard. The U.S. dollar strenthened against the yen by 0.65, closing at 111.53. Yield on 10-year Treasury notes gained by 3.6 basis points to 2.188% after Fed Bank of New York President William Dudley said to the effect that the U.S. economy continues to expand and that the inflation rate will start to rise caused by the wage hikes resulted from decline in unemployment rate. Investors bought shares in the financial sector. And most investors continue to expect China’s domestic equities will gain entry into MSCI Inc.’s benchmark indexes this week. WTI crude oil held losses after sliding 1.4 percent on Monday. WTI crude futures fell by 54 cents, settling at $44.20 a barrel. Oil fell, extending four weeks of declines, as U.S. drillers continue to add rigs and Libya boosts output, blunting OPEC-led efforts to re-balance an oversupplied market. Crude futures droppped 1.2 percent in New York after capping the longest run of weekly declines since August 2015. U.S. drillers targeting crude added rigs for a 22nd straight week, the longest uninterrupted stretch of growth in three decades, according to data from Baker Hughes Inc. on Friday. WTI futures for July delivery, which expires Tuesday. closed at $44.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 54 cents. Futures have fallen 18 percent this year. U.S. drillers increased the rig count by six to 747 last week, the highest level since April 2015, according to Baker Hughes. American crude production has expanded to 9.33 million barrels a day, Energy Information Administration data show. Libya is producing the most oil in four years after a deal with Wintershall AG enabled at least two fields to resume production. Libya’s oil production has risen to about 900000 barrels a day. OPEC will need to maintain its current supply quota through 2018 to prevent an increase in inventories, unless rig counts decline substantially, Morgan Stanley wrote in a report.
