Crude Oil Rises From Two-Week Low as Market Seen Tightening

---

Oil climbed from a two-week low amid speculation that the buildup of U.S. crude inventories will soon end as refinery demand increases.

Futures rose 0.8 percent in New York. U.S. stockpiles probably increased by 1.3 million barrels last week, the smallest gain since September, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The Energy Information Administration cut its U.S. crude production outlook for 2016 Tuesday. Supply from non-OPEC countries will probably stop growing by 2020, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday in a report.

The oil market has experienced a slump of 43 percent in the past year amid a global glut. U.S. stockpiles remain more than 100 million barrels above the five-year seasonal average after producers cut costs to maintain output. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is considering raising its official production target by 1 million to include the output from new member Indonesia, according to two OPEC delegates. OPEC said it pumped 31.57 million barrels a day in September, compared to its current 30 million target. OPEC meets Dec. 4 in Vienna.

West Texas Intermediate for December delivery advanced 34 cents to settle at $44.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell to $43.87 on Monday, the lowest close since Oct. 27.

Brent for December settlement climbed 25 cents, or 0.5 percent, to end the session at $47.44 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude closed at $3.23 premium to WTI.

Source : Bloomberg

Gold Rises for 2nd Session in a Row on Technical Bounce

---

Gold futures settled higher on Tuesday, with analysts attributing the modest climb to a technical bounce a day after prices for the metal snapped a seven-session streak of declines.

December gold GCZ5, -0.04% added 40 cents to settle at $1,088.50 an ounce on Comex, after seesawing between modest losses and gains early on in the session.

But prices continue to trade a few dollars away from lowest settlement level in more than 5 years. Tracking the most-active contracts, a settlement below $1,085.50 would be the worst since early 2010.

Higher interest rates could diminish the appeal of gold, which doesn’t offer interest, and may buoy the U.S. dollar, with a stronger greenback often bearish for dollar-denominated gold prices.

Other metals on Comex settled lower, with the exception of December palladium which inched up by 85 cents, or 0.1%, to $597.80 an ounce after losing 2.6% on Monday. January platinum fell $14.90, or 1.6%, to $899.50 an ounce.

December silver declined by 5.7 cents, or 0.4%, to $14.356 an ounce and December copper finished at $2.218 a pound, down 1.3 cents, or 0.6%.

Source: MarketWatch

Asian Stocks Fluctuate as Investors Await China Economic Reports

---

Asian stocks fluctuated, with the regional benchmark index trading near the lowest since mid-October, as investors awaited a spate of Chinese data for clues on the extent of the slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

About the same number of shares gained and fell on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which added 0.1 percent to 132.87 as of 9:07 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge closed at its lowest since Oct. 14 on Tuesday as slower-than-forecast inflation increased concern demand is weakening in the Chinese economy. Wednesday’s reports include data on retail sales, factory production and fixed-asset investment.

Japan’s Topix index was little changed and South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.1 percent. New Zealand’s S&P NZX 50 Index added 0.2 percent, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.3 percent. Markets in China and Hong Kong have yet to start trading, while those in Singapore and Malaysia reopen after Tuesday’s holiday.

Chinese shares in Hong Kong fell on Tuesday, with the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index sliding 1.8 percent. The mainland’s consumer-price index rose 1.3 percent in October, official data showed, compared with the 1.5 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. The report was the latest to show monetary easing failing to arrest a deepening economic slowdown, after exports declined for a fourth month in October and factory gauges signaled the nation’s manufacturing still hasn’t bottomed out amid faltering global demand.

E-mini futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 0.1 percent. The underlying measure gained 0.2 percent on Tuesday as health-care and consumer shares rose after equities’ steepest decline in six weeks.

Source : Bloomberg

Topix Falls From Near August High as Investors Weigh Earnings

---

Japanese stocks fell, with the Topix index retreating from near the highest level since August, as investors weighed earnings and awaited Chinese economic reports.

The Topix lost 0.3 percent to 1,585.17 as of 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo, after posting a 4.1 percent rally in the past five trading days. Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. and Mitsubishi Materials Corp. cut profit outlooks Tuesday, underscoring the challenges from waning Chinese demand. Data on industrial production and retail sales Wednesday will provide new clues on the economic slowdown in Japan’s largest trading partner.

Some 54 percent of Topix firms that have reported quarterly results this earnings season topped projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg on companies for which estimates were available.

Source : Bloomberg

S&P 500 Index Rises for First Time in Five Sessions; Apple Falls

---

U.S. stocks were little changed, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell the most in six weeks, as investors weighed the extent of the autumn rally in equities and the odds of higher interest rates in December.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent to 2,081.84 at 4:01 p.m. in New York, erasing an earlier drop of as much as 0.4 percent, and ending the longest losing streak since September.

The benchmark gauge slid the most since September yesterday, after six straight weeks of gains took it within 1 percent of a record reached in May. The S&P 500 had risen as much as 13 percent from an August low following its first correction in four years. The rally stalled last week after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said a December rate increase was a “live possibility,” and the October jobs report was stronger than expected. Traders now price in a 66 percent chance of a liftoff next month, up from about 50 percent a week ago.

Analysts now project profits for S&P 500 companies dropped 3.8 percent in the third quarter, improved from calls for a 7.2 percent decline at the start of the season. Of those index members that have reported, 74 percent beat profit projections, while 56 percent missed sales estimates.

Source : Bloomberg