Dow posts twelfth straight record high
US stocks closed higher on Monday as investors await President Trump’s speech. The dollar strengthened slightly ahead of the speech which is expected to shed more light on Trump’s policy plans. The live dollar index data show the ICE US dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, inched 0.03% higher at 101.158. The Dow Jones average rose less than 0.1% to 20837.44, the twelfth straight record high led by Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) shares. S&P 500 gained 0.1% settling at a record 2369.73, led by energy and financials stocks. The Nasdaq composite index closed 0.3% higher at 5861.90.
European stocks inch lower
European stocks edged lower on Monday led by Deutsche Borse and PostNL (AS:PTNL). The euro inched higher against the dollar, the British pound weakened against the greenback on reports of a possible second independence referendum for Scotland after Article 50 for EU exit procedure is triggered by UK. The Stoxx Europe 600 index slipped 0.1%. The DAX 30 rose 0.2% to close at 11822.67. France’s CAC 40 ended roughly unchanged and UK’s FTSE 100 added 0.1% settling at 7253.00.
Asian stocks mixed ahead of Trump speech
Asian stocks are mixed today as investors await President Trump’s speech for details on his tax and trade policies. Trump had proclaimed earlier his support for tax policies with preferential treatment for domestic exporters over importers. Any details in line with earlier proclaimed protectionist policy stance will hurt Asian economies dependent on exporting to US markets. Nikkei ended 0.1% higher at 19118.99 paring earlier gains as yen strengthened against the dollar and Japan recorded its first drop in industrial output in six months in January on lower car production and exports to China. Chinese stocks are up: the Shanghai Composite Index is gaining 0.3% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is 0.6% lower. Australia’s All Ordinaries Index is 0.2% lower with the Australian dollar edging higher against the dollar.
Oil prices edge lower
Oil futures prices are pulling back today after edging higher on Monday as traders considered high OPEC compliance with the output cut deal to curb output by about 1.2 million barrels per day from January 1. April Brent crude added 0.1% to $55.93 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange on Monday.