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Gold plunged to a more than four-year low as the dollar gained ground
True to form, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) gained ground in the wake of Tuesday's midterm elections -- buoyed by a Republican Senate takeover -- with the indexes notching their loftiest closes on record. Helping boost investor sentiment was a strong reading on private payrolls, which overshadowed a lower-than-forecast report on the services sector. Elsewhere on the Street, the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) sat out the day's positive momentum, amid sharp earnings-induced sell-offs for components Chuy's Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CHUY) and Zulily Inc (NASDAQ:ZU).
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 17,484.53) spent the entire session in the green, notching a fresh intraday peak of 17,486.59 right at the close, before settling up 100.7 points, or 0.6%, at its highest finish on record. Visa Inc's (NYSE:V) 2.7% gain paced the 25 advancers, while Intel Corporation (NASDAQ) led the five decliners with its 1.6% loss.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 2,023.57) also closed at its loftiest perch to date, up 11.5 points, or 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 4,620.72), meanwhile, lagged its peers to settle 2.9 points, or 0.1% lower.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX - 14.17) shed 0.7 point, or 4.8%, to close south of 15 for a fifth consecutive session.
5 Items on Our Radar Today:
- A report from Automatic Data Processing (ADP) -- often seen as a precursor to the Labor Department's nonfarm payrolls report, due out on Friday morning -- showed private payrolls added 230,000 jobs last month, exceeding economists' estimate by roughly 10,000. Additionally, September's number was revised up by 12,000 jobs to 225,000. This is the seventh straight month the number of jobs created in the private sector has exceeded 200,000. (CNBC)
- Tension is once again escalating in Ukraine following last weekend's elections in the eastern portion of the country, which were organized by Russian-backed separatists. The voting sparked outrage from a number of Western officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "Based on these illegitimate elections, we should look again at the list of particular individuals who bear responsibility in eastern Ukraine. We would certainly like to talk about possibly lifting [the sanctions], but I don't see such a situation," said Merkel." (Bloomberg)
- Wall Street continued to dote on BABA in the wake of the company's inaugural earnings report.
- Schaeffer's contributor Adam Warner investigates the accuracy of using VIX futures as a contrary indicator.
- If recent past is prologue, pre-earnings option traders who took the bearish route on First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) could be setting themselves up for disappointment.
For a look at today's options movers and commodities activity, head to page 2.
Commodities:
Crude futures bounced back from three-year lows today, following a lower-than-expected rise in domestic inventories -- and amid reports of a pipeline explosion in Saudi Arabia. By the close, crude for December delivery was up $1.49, or 1.9%, to close at $78.68 per barrel.
Gold, meanwhile, extended its losing streak to a sixth straight session as the dollar continued to gain ground. December-dated gold gave back $22, or 1.9%, to settle at $1,145.70 per ounce -- its lowest close since mid-2010.