Crude Declines as Russian Oil Output Climbs to Post-Soviet High

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Crude dropped from a two-week high as Russian production climbed and new data on Chinese manufacturing signaled a slowdown in demand.

Futures fell 1 percent in New York. Russian oil output broke a post-Soviet record in October for the fourth time this year, while Iran said it will tell OPEC next month of its plans to raise production by 500,000 barrels a day. China’s purchasing managers index remained at 49.8 in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said Sunday, compared with an estimate of 50, the line between expansion and contraction.

West Texas Intermediate for December delivery fell 45 cents to settle at $46.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The volume of all futures traded was 34 percent below the 100-day average at 2:45 p.m. Prices have decreased 13 percent this year.

Brent for December settlement dropped 77 cents, or 1.6 percent, to end the session at $48.79 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude closed at a $2.65 premium to WTI.

Source: Bloomberg

Gold Drops Four-Week Low as Fund Holdings Fall on Fed Outlook

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Gold declined to a four-week low and investors cut their holdings in bullion-backed funds to the smallest in two weeks as traders gave even odds that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in December.

Gold futures for December delivery dropped 0.5 percent to settle at $1,135.90 an ounce at 1:55 p.m. on the Comex in New York, after touching $1.132.50, the lowest since Oct. 5. The metal capped its fourth decline in five sessions.

Holdings in exchange-traded products backed by gold declined 2.6 metric tons to 1,539.7 tons as of Friday, the lowest since Oct. 16, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Silver futures for December delivery declined 1 percent to $15.408 an ounce on the Comex. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, platinum futures for January delivery lost 1.1 percent to $978.40 an ounce, and palladium futures for December delivery fell 4 percent to $650.35 an ounce, the biggest drop in two months.

Nasdaq 100 Jumps to 15-Year High as Augusts Tumble Is Erased

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Another step in the recovery from this summer’s equity meltdown occurred Monday as an advance in U.S. stocks pushed the Nasdaq 100 Index above its July high and toward record territory.

The index’s 1.1 percent advance Monday moved its rally from an August trough to 17 percent, making it the first major index of U.S. stocks to retake a multiyear high established earlier in 2015. As of Monday’s close, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was more than 1 percent from its May 21 peak of 2,130.82, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was more than 2.5 percent away from its last record.

Gains in the index have come in its biggest computer and software companies. Since the Aug. 25 low, Amazon.com Inc. is up 35 percent, Intel Corp. has rallied 32 percent and Facebook Inc. has jumped 24 percent. The index’s biggest member, Apple Inc. with a 12.9 percent weighting, has jumped 17 percent.

The S&P 500 added 1.2 percent to 2,103.94 at 4 p.m. in New York, rising to within 1.3 percent of its record set in May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 164.88 points, or 0.9 percent, to 17,828.42.

More than 100 companies in the S&P 500 are scheduled to announce earnings this week. Of those that have released results this season, about 75 percent exceeded profit projections, while 55 percent missed sales forecasts. Analysts estimate earnings dropped 3.9 percent in the third quarter, up from predictions for a 6.1 percent decline a week earlier.

Source: Bloomberg

Stocks Rise as Bonds Fall Amid Deals, Factory Data; Oil Slips

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Global stocks resumed an autumn rally, while bonds retreated as firmer factory data in Europe and the U.S. countered a slowdown in China.

U.S. stocks joined gains in overseas equities, with health-care sector deals adding to optimism after factory data in Europe and America topped estimates. The unexpected acceleration in output damped demand for government bonds. Oil led commodities lower as Chinese manufacturing contracted.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.7 percent at 11:57 a.m. in New York. The gauge rallied 8.3 percent in October for the best performance in four years, though equities ended the month on a two-day slide.

Corporate deal activity helped boost health-care companies as Dyax Corp. jumped 32 percent after Shire Plc agreed to buy the drugmaker for at least $5.9 billion. Mylan NV and AbbVie Inc. rose more than 4 percent. Pfizer Inc. climbed 2 percent as people with knowledge of the matter said the company is making progress in talks to buy Allergan Plc.

Source: Bloomberg

European Stocks Rise as Euro-Area Manufacturing Beats Estimates

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European stocks advanced as better-than-expected manufacturing in the region outweighed disappointing Chinese output data.

Commerzbank AG rose 6.6 percent after the German lender said quarterly earnings increased by 25 percent, while Chief Executive Officer Martin Blessing prepares to leave the company. HSBC Holdings Plc fell 0.8 percent as RBC Capital said that the bank’s decline in income will lead analysts to downgrade their estimates. Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Ltd. lost at least 1.4 percent, dragging a gauge of miners to among the worst performers of the 19 industry groups on the Stoxx Europe 600 Index as commodity prices slid.

The Stoxx 600 climbed 0.3 percent to 376.75 at the close of trading, reversing a loss of as much as 0.7 percent. Shares extended gains earlier as a Markit Economics release showed output in the euro area unexpectedly accelerated in October as German companies fared better than initially reported. China’s official purchasing managers index contracted last month, missing estimates and rekindling concern about growth and demand in the world’s second-largest economy.

The Stoxx 600 posted its best monthly rally in six years in October after President Mario Draghi said the European Central Bank will consider additional easing in December, and China increased stimulus measures. The equity gauge’s rebound from a quarterly rout has been led by gains in carmakers, miners and energy producers -- the groups most battered in the selloff.

Source : Bloomberg