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The Market at 04:30PM ET
Dow: +57.77… | Nasdaq: -11.14… | S&P: +4.10…
NASDAQ Vol: 2.04 bln… Adv: 1037… Dec: 1599…
NYSE Vol: 873.7 mln… Adv: 1572… Dec: 1345…

Moving the Market

Bullish influence from global markets as stocks rally around the world

Apple (APPL) slides after three sessions of big gains, keeps broader market in check

Energy stocks rally as the price of crude oil hovers near eight-month high

Sector Watch
Strong: Energy, Materials, Consumer Staples
Weak: Industrials, Utilities, Telecom Services, Real Estate
04:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks touched record highs at Wednesday's opening bell, but the bullish sentiment was quickly stifled, leaving the market little changed. The major indices finished the session mixed, settling in the lower half of their trading ranges. The Dow and the S&P 500 added 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.2%. Small caps struggled, sending the Russell 2000 lower by 0.7%.

The Federal Open Market Committee announced its latest policy decision on Wednesday afternoon, but the event came and went without much impact on the financial markets. As expected, the FOMC voted unanimously to leave the fed funds target range at 1.00%-1.25% and reiterated its belief that the economy will continue to expand at a moderate pace.

Wednesday's policy statement did little to alter the market's belief that the Fed will hike rates at the December FOMC meeting, evidenced by the CME FedWatch Tool--which places the chances of a December rate hike at 98.2%. On a related note, President Trump is expected to unveil his Fed Chair nominee on Thursday, with reports indicating that it'll likely be Fed Governor Jerome Powell.

In addition, House Republicans say they'll release their tax reform bill on Thursday--one day later than their original self-imposed deadline.

Energy stocks led Wednesday's modest rally, even though WTI crude futures declined 0.4% to $54.18/bbl. Crude oil held a gain of more than 1.0% early in the session, but moved back to its flat line after the Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude stockpiles declined by 2.4 million barrels last week. Still, the commodity finished near an eight-month high.

The S&P 500's energy sector added 1.1%, but gains from the other groups were pretty modest. The consumer staples space was one of the top performers outside of energy, adding 0.3%, thanks in part to cosmetic giant Estee Lauder (EL 122.12, +10.31), which surged 9.2% on better-than-expected earnings and revenues.

Meanwhile, the materials sector (+0.6%) also outperformed, with DowDuPont (DWDP 73.32, +1.01) adding 1.4% before its Thursday morning earnings release.

On the flip side, Apple (AAPL 166.89, -2.15) struggled on Wednesday, losing 1.3%, following three straight sessions of big gains. The tech giant will report earnings on Thursday evening and goes into Thursday's session with an incredible year-to-date gain of 44.1%. With a market cap of around $860 billion, Apple is the largest component within the S&P 500.

Telecom stocks continued their bearish 2017 campaign in the midweek session, with CenturyLink (CTL 17.85, -1.14) pacing the retreat. The company finished with a loss of 6.0% after completing its acquisition of Level 3 Communications--a process that took nearly a year. The S&P 500's telecom services sector declined by 0.5%, extending its year-to-date loss to 16.4%.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries finished mostly lower, but longer-dated issues showed relative strength. The yield on the 2-yr Treasury note climbed four basis points to 1.63%, while the benchmark 10-yr yield finished flat at 2.38%. Generally speaking, Treasuries ticked lower following the Fed's policy release. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index finished higher by 0.3% at 94.69.

Reviewing Wednesday's economic data, which included the October ADP Employment Change Report, the October ISM Index, September Construction Spending, and the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index:

The ADP National Employment Report showed an increase of 235,000 in October (Briefing.com consensus 215,000). The September reading was left unrevised at 135,000.
The ISM Index for October declined to 58.7 from an unrevised reading of 60.8 in September, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a downtick to 59.0.
The key takeaway from the report is that manufacturing conditions remain solid, as the October dip is most likely just a cooling off from what was a very hot September reading.
The Construction Spending report for October rose 0.3%, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a decrease of 0.2%. The prior month's increase was revised to 0.1% from 0.5%.
The key takeaway from the report is that overall construction spending remains modest and an inhibitor of stronger real GDP growth.
The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index decreased 2.6% to follow last week's 4.6% decline.

On Thursday, investors will receive the weekly Initial Claims Report (Briefing.com consensus 235K), third quarter Productivity (Briefing.com consensus 2.8%), and third quarter Unit Labor Costs (Briefing.com consensus 0.0%)--all of which will be released at 8:30 ET.

Nasdaq Composite +24.8% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +18.6% YTD
S&P 500 +15.2% YTD
Russell 2000 +10.0% YTD

Dow: +57.77… | Nasdaq: -11.14… | S&P: +4.10…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1037/1599. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1572/1345.

03:35PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Commodities end the day higher:

Overall, commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are currently up 0.41% at 86.5381
Dollar index is currently up 0.2% at 94.74
Oct WTI Crude is down 0.37% on the day.
EIA data showed crude oil inventories had a draw of 2.4 mln barrels
Futures settle $0.20 lower to $54.18/barrel.
In other energy, Nov natural gas settled unchanged at $2.9/MMBtu
On the metals:
Dec Gold gained $6.40 to settle at $1276.90/oz, while Dec silver gained $0.49 to $17.18/oz
Dec Copper gained $0.04 to $3.14/lb
Finally, agriculture:
Dec Corn settled unchanged at $3.48/bu.
Nov Soy settled down $0.0025 at $9.9075/bu.
Dec wheat settled flat at $4.18/bu.

Dow: +68.52… | Nasdaq: -11.76… | S&P: +5.7…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1042/1700. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1607/1307.

03:00PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices enter the final hour of trading mixed; the S&P 500 and the Dow are up 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively, while the Nasdaq is lower by 0.2%.

Facebook (FB 181.47, +1.40) will headline tonight's earnings front, looking to justify its astounding year-to-date gain of 57.8%. With a market cap of around $430 billion, the social media giant is one of the most influential components within the S&P 500. Tesla (TSLA 323.39, -8.14), Qualcomm (QCOM 52.62, +1.61), Fitbit (FIT 6.22, +0.08), and GoPro (GPRO 10.50, +0.05) will also report earnings this evening, along with many others.

Tomorrow morning, investors will receive quarterly results from Alibaba (BABA 186.15, +1.26), DowDuPont (DWDP 72.98, +0.65), and Yum! Brands (YUM 74.66, +0.21).
Dow: +67.55… | Nasdaq: -13.21… | S&P: +5.42…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1023/1751. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1588/1323.

02:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equities are still modestly higher this afternoon following the Fed's decision to leave interest rates unchanged. The S&P 500 sports a gain of 0.2%.

The consumer staples sector (+0.4%) is trading in the upper half of today's sector standings, with its two biggest components by market cap--Wal-Mart (WMT 88.11, +0.80) and Procter & Gamble (PG 86.94, +0.60)--showing gains of 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively. The sector's top-performing component is Estee Lauder (EL 121.11, +9.30), which has jumped 8.3% after reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenues this morning.

Meanwhile, the health care sector (+0.4%) also has a step on the broader market, despite the underperformance of biotechnology names, which have sent the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 312.12, -2.06) lower by 0.7%. Today's decline extends the IBB's two-week loss to 19.6%.
Dow: +39.71… | Nasdaq: -20.69… | S&P: +3.32…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1007/1772. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1555/1338.

02:05PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] As expected, the FOMC voted to keep the fed funds target range at 1.00%-1.25%.

Equities have ticked slightly higher following the announcement, with the S&P 500 now showing a gain of 0.2%.

Meanwhile, Treasuries have moved higher following the release; the 2-yr yield is up one basis point at 1.60%, while the 10-yr yield is down three basis points at 2.35%.

The U.S. Dollar Index was up 0.2%, but now trades higher by 0.1% at 94.58.
Dow: +28.40… | Nasdaq: -23.55… | S&P: +3.16…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 939/1859. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1495/1371.

01:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices have seen some notable pressure to the downside in recent action ahead of the FOMC rate decision, due out at the top of the hour.

A look inside the Dow Jones Industrial Average shows that Pfizer (PFE 35.58, +0.52), Walt Disney (DIS 99.22, +1.41) & Intel (INTC 46.06, +0.57) are outperforming. Intel continues to display relative strength as shares reach fresh 17-year highs in the wake of yesterday's WSJ report that Apple could choose Intel to replace the Qualcomm's (QCOM 52.51, +1.50) chips for iPhones & iPads.

Conversely, Apple (AAPL 166.18, -2.86) is the worst-performing Dow component as shares slip in anticipation of tomorrow's quarterly earnings report.

For the week, the DJIA is currently -0.10%.
Dow: +17.50… | Nasdaq: -34.11… | S&P: +0.29…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 953/1863. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1442/1411.

01:05PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The U.S. equity market got off to a good start this morning as all three major indices hit new record highs shortly after the opening bell. However, investor sentiment cooled off shortly thereafter and continues to remain subdued ahead of the Fed's latest policy announcement, which will cross the wires at 14:00 ET.

Equities currently hover near the bottom of their trading ranges, with the Nasdaq (-0.2%) and the Russell 2000 (-0.7%) showing relative weakness. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and the Dow sport modest gains of 0.2% apiece.

The Fed's policy decision isn't expected to contain any major surprises and will likely do little more than set the stage for a December rate hike. Still, investors will examine the central bank's statement closely, as it may begin to lay the groundwork for rate hikes in 2018.

On Wall Street, energy stocks have been rallying today, underpinned by the price of crude oil, which continues to hover at its highest level in over two years. Crude futures are currently trading at their lowest marks of the day, however, giving back a gain of around 1.0% after the EIA reported a draw of 2.4 million barrels for the week ended October 27. WTI crude futures are down 0.1% at $54.35/bbl.

Besides the S&P 500's energy sector, which is up 1.1%, gains have been modest in the broader market, with no sector adding more than 0.4%. The heavily-weighted health care group has a step on its peers, bouncing back from recent weakness, but holds a gain of just 0.4%.

Apple (AAPL 166.64, -2.40) has been a bearish influence in today's session, following three straight days of big gains. The tech giant is down 1.4%, keeping the S&P 500's technology sector at its unchanged mark. Elsewhere within the group, Electronic Arts (EA 114.40, -5.20) has tumbled 4.4%, despite reporting above-consensus earnings.

The lightly-weighted telecom services space (-0.8%) hovers at the very bottom of the sector standings, with CenturyLink (CTL 17.75, -1.24) showing particular weakness. The company has dropped 6.6% in today's session after completing its acquisition of Level 3 Communications.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries are trading mixed this afternoon, with shorter-dated issues showing relative weakness; the yield on the 2-yr Treasury note is up two basis points at 1.61%. Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-yr yield is lower by two basis points at 2.36%. Yields move inversely to prices.

Reviewing Wednesday's economic data, which included the October ADP Employment Change Report, the October ISM Index, September Construction Spending, and the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index:

The ADP National Employment Report showed an increase of 235,000 in October (Briefing.com consensus 215,000). The September reading was left unrevised at 135,000.
The ISM Index for October declined to 58.7 from an unrevised reading of 60.8 in September, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a downtick to 59.0.
The key takeaway from the report is that manufacturing conditions remain solid, as the October dip is most likely just a cooling off from what was a very hot September reading.
The Construction Spending report for October rose 0.3%, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a decrease of 0.2%. The prior month's increase was revised to 0.1% from 0.5%.
The key takeaway from the report is that overall construction spending remains modest and an inhibitor of stronger real GDP growth.
The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index decreased 2.6% to follow last week's 4.6% decline.

Dow: +47.12… | Nasdaq: -14.97… | S&P: +4.17…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1011/1816. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1471/1379.

12:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks continue to hover near their lowest marks of the day, with the S&P 500 holding a modest gain of 0.2%.

Most sectors are still trading in positive territory, but gains have largely been held in check; energy (+1.1%) is the only group that has added more than 0.5%. On the flip side, the utilities (-0.5%), telecom services (-0.8%), and real estate (-0.1%) sectors are trading in the red, but their impact has been modest as they comprise less than 10.0% of the broader market combined.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries are trading mixed this afternoon, with shorter-dated issues showing relative weakness; the yield on the 2-yr Treasury note is up two basis points at 1.61%. Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-yr yield is lower by two basis points at 2.36%. Yields move inversely to prices.
Dow: +58.45… | Nasdaq: -4.89… | S&P: +6.21…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1067/1771. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1484/1355.

11:55AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices have been ticking lower as of late, hitting fresh session lows. The S&P 500 is up 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is down 0.1%.

Automakers are trading mostly higher this morning after reporting U.S. sales for the month of October. Ford Motor (F 12.36, +0.09), Toyota Motor (TM 124.26, +0.26), and Honda Motor (HMC 31.67, +0.58) are up 0.8%, 0.3%, and 1.9%, respectively, after reporting respective year-over-year increases of 6.2%, 1.1%, and 0.9%.

Conversely, General Motors (GM 42.70, -0.28) and Fiat Chrysler (FCAU 17.59, +0.24) reported year-over-year declines of 2.2% and 13.0%, respectively. GM shares have slipped 0.8% on the news, while Fiat Chrysler has managed to climb 1.3%.
Dow: +45.83… | Nasdaq: -5.15… | S&P: +5.00…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1093/1705. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1520/1292.

11:30AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices have not changed much since the last update; the S&P 500 is higher by 0.3%.

Apple (AAPL 167.52, -1.51) has been a bearish influence in today's session, losing 0.9%, following three straight days of big gains. Starting on Friday, the tech giant added 3.6%, 2.3%, and 1.4%, respectively, in three sessions. The company, which is the S&P 500's largest component by market cap, has been a drag on the technology sector (+0.2%), and the broader market in general, in today's session though, due to its enormous influence.

Elsewhere within the technology group, Facebook (FB 181.66, +1.60) is trading comfortably above the broader market, sporting a gain of 0.9%, ahead of tonight's earnings release. Today's advance places the social media giant at a new record high and extends its year-to-date gain to an astounding 57.9%. For comparison, the S&P 500 has added 15.4% so far this year.
Dow: +81.56… | Nasdaq: +5.17… | S&P: +7.85…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1243/1564. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1629/1164.

11:00AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] The major U.S. indices are still trading higher this morning, although the Nasdaq (+0.1%) has trimmed its opening gain. The S&P 500 and the Dow are up 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively.

Crude oil has come off its best mark of the day after the weekly inventory report from the Energy Information Administration showed a draw of 2.4 million barrels for the week ended October 27. WTI crude futures are up 0.3% at $54.53/bbl, but held a gain of around 1.2% going into the EIA release.

Nonetheless, the energy sector (+1.2%) continues to hold a comfortable lead over its peers, hovering at the very top of today's sector standings. The financials (+0.6%) and materials (+0.6%) groups also show relative strength, while the utilities (-0.2%) and telecom services (-0.5%) groups lag.
Dow: +102.85… | Nasdaq: +2.21… | S&P: +8.09…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1397/1400. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1761/1019.

10:30AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Commodities begin the day noticeably higher:

Overall, commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, are currently higher 0.6% at 86.7052
Dollar index is currently up 0.1% at 94.64
Dec WTI crude is up 0.9% on the day.
EIA inventory data showed a draw of 2.4 mln barrels for the week ended Oct 27th
Futures are $0.49 higher to $54.87/barrel.
In other energy, Nov natural gas is down $0.01 at $2.89/MMBtu
Metals:
Dec gold gained $9.10 and trades at $1279.60/oz, while Dec silver gained $0.43 to $17.12/oz
Dec copper gained 0.04 to $3.14/lb
Finally, agriculture:
Dec corn is up $0.03 at $3.49/bu.
Nov soy is up $0.03 at $9.875/bu.
Dec wheat is up $0.02 at $4.21/bu.

Dow: +111.11… | Nasdaq: +6.92… | S&P: +9.22…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1446/1331. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1804/962.

10:00AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks have extended their opening gains, pushing the S&P 500 higher by 0.5%.

Just in, the ISM Index for October declined to 58.7 from an unrevised reading of 60.8 in September, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a downtick to 59.0.

Separately, the Construction Spending report for October rose 0.3%, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a decrease of 0.2%. The prior month's increase was revised to 0.1% from 0.5%.
Dow: +137.09… | Nasdaq: +17.82… | S&P: +11.65…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1736/974. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1963/737.

09:40AM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equity indices are up modestly in the opening minutes of today's session, with the S&P 500 (+0.4%) and the Nasdaq (+0.4%) hitting new all-time highs.

Most sectors are trading in the green this morning, with the energy group (+1.0%) holding the early lead. The group has benefited from a rise in the price of crude oil, which is currently up 1.0% at $54.93/bbl--its best level since July 2015. On the flip side, the lightly-weighted utilities sector (-0.5%) exhibits relative weakness.

As a reminder, today's last pieces of economic data--the October ISM Index (Briefing.com consensus 59.0) and the September Construction Spending Report (Briefing.com consensus -0.2%)--will be released at 10:00 ET.
Dow: +102.60… | Nasdaq: +25.07… | S&P: +9.82…

09:10AM ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +9.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +25.90.

The U.S. equity market is on track to open Wednesday's session in record territory as the S&P 500 futures trade 10 points, or 0.4%, above fair value.

October's ADP Employment Change Report came in better than expected, showing an increase of 235,000 private sector jobs (Briefing.com 215,000). However, the Treasury market has had a largely muted response to the report and continues to hover modestly lower. The yield on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note is up one basis point at 2.39%.

At 10:00 ET, investors will receive both the October ISM Index (Briefing.com consensus 59.0) and the September Construction Spending Report (Briefing.com consensus -0.2%). Then, at 14:00 ET, the Fed will release its latest policy directive, although the statement isn't expected to do much more than set the stage for a December rate hike. October auto and trucks sales will be released throughout the day.

In earnings news, U.S. Steel (X 27.70, +2.36) has surged 9.3% in pre-market action after beating both top and bottom line estimates and issuing upbeat guidance for the fiscal year. Facebook (FB 181.98, +1.92), Tesla (TSLA 331.53, 0.00), and Qualcomm (QCOM 51.16, +0.15) will all report their quarterly results following today's closing bell, along with several other notable names.

WTI crude futures are up 0.9% at $54.89/bbl, which marks the commodity's best level since July 2015. The upbeat performance follows last night's ADP inventory report, which showed a draw of 5.1 million barrels for the week ended October 27. The official government figures will be released by the Department of Energy at 10:30 ET.

08:50AM ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +10.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +27.60.

The S&P 500 futures trade 10 points, or 0.4%, above fair value.

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended the midweek session on a mostly higher note. Reports in South Korean press indicated the U.S. is seeking direct diplomacy with North Korea. Meanwhile, Japan's Kyodo expects Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to request an extra budget. There was also continued speculation that Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will be reappointed to another term.

In economic data:
China's October Caixin Manufacturing PMI 51.0 (expected 51.0; last 51.0)
Japan's October Manufacturing PMI 52.8 (expected 52.5; last 52.5)
New Zealand's Q3 Employment Change +2.2% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.8%; last -0.2%). Q3 Participation Rate 71.7% (expected 70.2%; last 70.0%), and Q3 Unemployment Rate 4.6% (expected 4.7%; last 4.8%)
Australia's October AIG Manufacturing Index 51.1 (last 54.2)
South Korea's October CPI -0.2% month-over-month (expected -0.1%; last 0.1%); +1.8% year-over-year (consensus 1.9%; last 2.1%). October trade surplus KRW7.30 billion (last surplus of KRW13.46 billion). October Imports +7.4% year-over-year (expected 11.5%; last 22.6%) and Exports +7.1% year-over-year (consensus 13.0%; last 35.0%).
India's October Nikkei Markit Manufacturing PMI 50.3 (expected 51.5; last 51.2)

---Equity Markets---

Japan's Nikkei spiked 1.9%. Tokyo Electron surged 13.4% after boosting its forecast while Sony jumped 11.4% after beating expectations and boosting its guidance. Asahi Glass, Konami, Nitto Denko, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Panasonic, Furukawa Electric, Komatsu, and TDK posted gains between 3.1% and 7.8%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 1.2% with financials and property names leading the way. China Life Insurance, Ping An Insurance, AIA Group, Henderson Land, China Resources Land, Sino Land, and SHK Properties added between 1.1% and 6.7%.
China's Shanghai Composite added 0.1%. Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics, Keda Clean Energy, Shanghai Belling, Hangzhou Silan Microelectronics, and China Southern Airlines advanced between 3.5% and 4.8%.
India's Sensex rose 1.2% with Bharti Airtel spiking 8.2%. Financials like SBI, ICICI Bank, AXIS Bank, and HDFC Bank gained between 0.7% and 4.6%. Tech consultants were mixed as Infosys gained 0.5% while Wipro and Tata Consultancy lost 0.3% and 0.6%, respectively.

Major European indices trade in the green with Germany's DAX (+1.8%) showing relative strength after yesterday's holiday closure. The overall participation has remained limited due to closures in Austria, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. These Central and Eastern European markets are closed for all-souls day. The UK's Brexit secretary David Davis said he is seeking an acceleration of the Brexit process, noting that a basic deal is likely even if trade talks fail. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research expects UK's inflation to hit 3.2% in the fourth quarter while the Bank of England's Official Bank rate is expected to peak at 2.0% in 2021. The central bank is expected to increase its Official Bank rate by 25 basis points to 0.50% on Thursday.

In economic data:
UK's October Manufacturing PMI 56.3 (expected 55.8; last 56.0). October Nationwide HPI +0.2% month-over-month, as expected (last 0.4%); +2.5% year-over-year (consensus 2.2%; last 2.3%)
Swiss October SVME PMI 62.0 (expected 61.5; last 61.7)

---Equity Markets---

Germany's DAX is higher by 1.8% with Infineon, Volkswagen, Siemens, SAP, and BMW rising between 2.3% and 4.3%. Bayer and Merck are up 1.9% and 1.6%, respectively, while Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank hold respective gains of 0.4% and 0.9%.
France's CAC has climbed 0.5%. Growth-sensitive names like ArcelorMittal, TechnipFMC, Peugeot, STMicroelectronics, Total, Cap Gemini, and Renault sport gains between 0.9% and 3.3%. On the downside, BNP Paribas is the weakest performer, falling 0.9%.
UK's FTSE has added 0.2%. Paddy Power has spiked 4.4% after beating quarterly expectations while miners like Anglo American, Antofagasta, Glencore, BHP Billiton, and Rio Tinto show gains between 3.3% and 3.8%. On the downside, Next is down 8.5% after disappointing results while peer Marks & Spencer has slid 5.4%.

08:25AM ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +11.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +29.40.

The S&P 500 futures trade 11 points, or 0.4%, above fair value.

Released not long ago, the ADP National Employment Report showed an increase of 235,000 in October (Briefing.com consensus 215,000). The September reading was left unrevised at 135,000.

08:02AM ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +11.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +28.00.

Equity futures are pointing to a good start for the U.S. equity market this morning as stocks trade higher around the globe. The S&P 500 futures currently trade 11 points, or 0.4%, above fair value, which would place the benchmark index in record territory at the opening bell. Investors will have a busy session today, with lots of economic data and the Fed's latest rate decision on the docket.

The Federal Open Market Committee will release its latest policy statement this afternoon at 14:00 ET, but the statement is not expected to do much more than set the stage for a December rate hike. Going into the release, the CME FedWatch Tool places the chances of a December rate hike at 98.2%.

In addition, investors will receive a sizable dose of economic data today, including the October ADP Employment Change Report (Briefing.com consensus 215K) at 8:15 ET, the October ISM Index (Briefing.com consensus 59.0) at 10:00 ET, and September Construction Spending (Briefing.com consensus -0.2%) also at 10:00 ET. October auto and truck sales will be released throughout the day.

The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index, which was released earlier this morning, decreased 2.6% to follow last week's 4.6% decline.

As for earnings, a bundle of notable companies will report their quarterly results following today's closing bell, including Facebook (FB 182.31, +2.25), Tesla (TSLA 332.97, +1.44), Qualcomm (QCOM 51.19, +0.18), GoPro (GPRO 10.55, +0.12), and Fitbit (FIT 6.25, +0.11), among many others.

In Washington, House Republicans originally said that they would release their tax reform bill today, but announced late last night that they will instead release the piece of legislation on Thursday. Reports indicate that lawmakers are still negotiating the specifics of the bill, including key points like how to treat retirement savings accounts and deductions for state and local taxes.

U.S. Treasuries are trading lower this morning, sending yields higher across the curve; the benchmark 10-yr yield is up one basis point at 2.39%. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index is up 0.1% at 94.55 and WTI crude futures are up 1.2% at $55.03/bbl after the American Petroleum Institute reported a draw of 5.1 million barrels on Tuesday evening.

The Energy Information Administration will release the official government crude inventory report at 10:30 ET.

In U.S. corporate news:

U.S. Steel (X 27.80, +2.48): +9.8% after beating both top and bottom line estimates and issuing upbeat guidance for the fiscal year.
Electronic Arts (EA 116.44, -3.16): -2.6% despite reporting above-consensus earnings.
Wynn Resorts (WYNN 151.95, +4.46): +3.0% after The Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reported a 20.4% year-over-year increase in gross gaming revenue.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended the midweek session on a mostly higher note. Japan's Nikkei +1.9%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng +1.2%, China's Shanghai Composite +0.1%, India's Sensex +1.2%.
In economic data:
China's October Caixin Manufacturing PMI 51.0 (expected 51.0; last 51.0)
Japan's October Manufacturing PMI 52.8 (expected 52.5; last 52.5)
New Zealand's Q3 Employment Change +2.2% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.8%; last -0.2%). Q3 Participation Rate 71.7% (expected 70.2%; last 70.0%), and Q3 Unemployment Rate 4.6% (expected 4.7%; last 4.8%)
Australia's October AIG Manufacturing Index 51.1 (last 54.2)
South Korea's October CPI -0.2% month-over-month (expected -0.1%; last 0.1%); +1.8% year-over-year (consensus 1.9%; last 2.1%). October trade surplus KRW7.30 billion (last surplus of KRW13.46 billion). October Imports +7.4% year-over-year (expected 11.5%; last 22.6%) and Exports +7.1% year-over-year (consensus 13.0%; last 35.0%).
India's October Nikkei Markit Manufacturing PMI 50.3 (expected 51.5; last 51.2)
In news:
Reports in South Korean press indicated the U.S. is seeking direct diplomacy with North Korea.
Japan's Kyodo expects Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to request an extra budget. There was also continued speculation that Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will be reappointed to another term.

Major European indices trade in the green with Germany's DAX (+1.6%) showing relative strength after yesterday's holiday closure. France's CAC +0.5%, UK's FTSE +0.2%.
In economic data:
UK's October Manufacturing PMI 56.3 (expected 55.8; last 56.0). October Nationwide HPI +0.2% month-over-month, as expected (last 0.4%); +2.5% year-over-year (consensus 2.2%; last 2.3%)
Swiss October SVME PMI 62.0 (expected 61.5; last 61.7)
In news:
The UK's Brexit secretary David Davis said he is seeking an acceleration of the Brexit process, noting that a basic deal is likely even if trade talks fail. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research expects UK's inflation to hit 3.2% in the fourth quarter while the Bank of England's Official Bank rate is expected to peak at 2.0% in 2021. The central bank is expected to increase its Official Bank rate by 25 basis points to 0.50% on Thursday.
The overall participation has remained limited due to closures in Austria, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. These Central and Eastern European markets are closed for all-souls day.

05:59AM ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +9.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +32.80.

05:59AM ET
[BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...22420...+408.50...+1.90%. Hang Seng...28594...+348.50...+1.20%.

05:59AM ET
[BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...7503.66...+10.60...+0.10%. DAX...13408.41...+178.80...+1.40%.

04:30PM ET

[BRIEFING.COM] Equities ticked higher on Tuesday, ending the session near their opening marks. The Nasdaq (+0.4%) outperformed both the S&P 500 (+0.1%) and the Dow (+0.1%), finishing at a new record high. Meanwhile, small caps did even better, sending the Russell 2000 higher by 0.8%.

The S&P 500's consumer staples sector (+0.8%) paced Tuesday's advance, thanks in large part to Mondelez International (MDLZ 41.43, +2.13)--the owner of brands like Oreo, Trident, and Chips Ahoy!--and Kellogg (K 62.53, +3.66)--which houses brands like Froot Loops and Pringles. The two companies jumped 5.4% and 6.2%, respectively, after reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenues.

Within the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Intel (INTC 45.49, +1.12) was the strongest component, adding 2.5%, following a Wall Street Journal report that Apple (AAPL 169.04, +2.32) could use the chipmaker's hardware, instead of Qualcomm's (QCOM 51.01, -3.65), in future iPhones and iPads. QCOM shares moved in the opposite direction, losing 6.7%.

As a reminder, Apple and Qualcomm are currently in a legal battle, with Apple alleging that Qualcomm has unfairly used its monopoly position as a manufacturer of baseband processors.

The price of crude oil climbed on Tuesday, helping the S&P 500's energy sector (+0.4%) finish near the top of the sector standings. WTI crude futures finished the session higher by 0.4%, at a price of $54.35/bbl--which marks the commodity's best close since late February. Over the last three weeks, WTI crude has climbed more than 10.0%.

Conversely, health care stocks struggled, with Mylan (MYL 35.71, -2.53) leading the retreat. The pharmaceutical company plunged 6.6% after Bloomberg reported that executive Rajiv Malik is the target of a multi-state investigation into generic drug price collusion. Pfizer (PFE 35.06, -0.09) also underperformed, slipping 0.3%, despite reporting above-consensus third quarter earnings.

The heavily-weighted financial sector (-0.3%) also moved lower, as did the industrials (-0.4%) and consumer discretionary (-0.1%) groups. Within the consumer discretionary space, Under Armour (UAA 12.52, -3.89) was by far the weakest performer, plunging 23.7%, after cutting its outlook for the full year and reporting its first quarterly fall in revenue since going public back in 2005.

Outside the equity market, U.S. Treasuries finished modestly lower, with shorter-dated issues showing particular weakness; the yield on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note climbed one basis point to 2.38%, while the 2-yr yield jumped three basis points to 1.59%. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index climbed 0.1% to 94.44.

The Federal Open Market Committee began a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, but its latest policy directive--which will be released on Wednesday afternoon--is not expected to do much more than set the stage for a December rate hike. The CME FedWatch Tool currently places the chances of a December rate hike at 99.5%.

Reviewing Tuesday's economic data, which included the third quarter Employment Cost Index, the October Chicago PMI, October Consumer Confidence, and the August S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index:

The third quarter Employment Cost Index rose 0.7%, while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.6%.
The key takeaway is that there was a slight pickup in compensation costs in the third quarter, but not enough to trigger any undue inflation alarm.
Chicago PMI for October hit 66.2 (Briefing.com consensus 61.0), up from 65.2 in September.
The key takeaway from the report is that manufacturing conditions are strong in the Chicago Fed region, underscored by the New Orders Index hitting its highest level (69.9) since June and the second highest since May 2014.
The consumer confidence reading for October increased to 125.9 from the prior month's revised reading of 120.6 (from 119.8). The Briefing.com consensus expected the survey to hit 121.5.
The key takeaway from the report is that upbeat attitudes about the current job market factored prominently in the elevated reading, which is a hopeful indication for stronger consumer spending activity.
The Case-Shiller 20-city Index increased 5.9% in August.

On Wednesday, investors will receive the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index at 7:00 ET, the October ADP Employment Change Report (Briefing.com consensus 215K) at 8:15 ET, the October ISM Index (Briefing.com consensus 59.0) at 10:00 ET, September Construction Spending (Briefing.com consensus -0.2%) also at 10:00 ET, and the latest FOMC policy decision at 14:00 ET.

In addition, auto and truck sales for the month of October will be released throughout the day, and the House is scheduled to release its tax reform bill.

Nasdaq Composite +25.0% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +18.3% YTD
S&P 500 +15.0% YTD
Russell 2000 +10.7% YTD

Dow: +28.50… | Nasdaq: +28.71… | S&P: +2.43…
NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1753/1001. …NYSE Adv/Dec 1840/1106.

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Special thanks to Bloomberg, Briefing, Reuters and Yahoo! Finance for their market summaries. Also, thank you for the review of TheStrategyLab performance record...hopefully the links will be useful for you.

Best Regards,
M.A. Perry
Online user name wrbtrader (more info about me) @ http://www.thestrategylab.com/wrbtrader.htm
TheStrategyLab Price Action Trading
Trader and Founder of WRB Analysis (wide range body/bar analysis)
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