The S&P 500 finished higher for the fourth straight day. The index has moved back, slightly, above its 200 and 150 day moving averages. The index was up 2.2 points or 0.23% in quiet pre-holiday trading.
Precious metals ended the day higher, while copper slid modestly lower. Gold rose 0.3% on the day and silver was up 1.0%.
The Markit manufacturing PMIs headline increased to 52.4 from 5.0 in the November flash report. This was better than the consensus expectation and the highest headline reported since June. The report shows that the manufacturing sector is improving.
Industrials are trading with the market today. Capital equipment stocks traded well today. Aerospace and defense stocks traded modestly higher.
Homebuilders and building products names also traded higher again. Billings at architecture firms accelerated to their strongest pace of growth since October 2010. This is the third straight month of gains with the pace of gains accelerating over the past two months.
Energy stocks traded a little better than the market. Crude was off slightly and natural gas was up modestly. Refiners are a leading industry within the energy sector as strength in crack spreads persists.
Source: PFS Group
