morning forum felines...Before the bell: Stock futures higher as gold sets another record, dollar slumps
Posted Nov 23rd 2009 7:45AM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: Before the bell, International markets, Market matters, Economic data, Commodities, Oil
U.S. stock futures rose Monday morning as investors reacted to rising commodity prices, including a new record for gold, and the dollar's retreat. Further economists expect job losses to peak in the first quarter. It seems Wall Street is about to join the world markets rally.
The U.S. dollar fell against the euro and the yen Monday, following some escalating tensions with Iran and after Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the central bank should continue its asset-buying program active beyond its current cut-off date. The Dollar Index fell for the first time in three days. What's more, forecasters predict the it will continue sliding even when the Fed begins to raise interest rates based on supply and demand forces.
Commodities gained across the board as the dollar weakened. Gold rallied to yet another new high on Monday, extending its winning streak into a seventh session. Gold for immediate delivery added as much as 1.5% to $1,167.88 an ounce in London. Oil, affected by concerns over Iran as well, also rallied with the January contract climbing 93 cents to $78.40 a barrel.
Also, for the first time in seven decades, Treasury bills are paying no interest while stocks continue to appreciate -- a divergence in U.S. financial markets that might be perilous if the Fed didn't know all about 1938. Three-month bill rates closed at 0.005% last week, down from 0.11% at the end of September. Traders told Bloomberg News the rate dipped below zero on some bills due in January on Nov. 19.
One major economic reports is due out today at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. The National Association of Realtors will release existing home sales for October. Economists expected sales to have increased to an annual rate of 5.65 million last month from 5.57 million in September.
Meanwhile, economists expect job losses to slowly abate in 2010 -- bottoming in the first quarter, but they predict consumers will continue to keep a tight rein on spending, according to a new survey. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans also expects U.S. unemployment to peak at around 10.5% next spring and hopefully easing to about 9.5% by end-2010.
And perhaps a new trend following the recession, for the first time in a decade, more people paid their credit card bills on time in the third quarter this year than in the second quarter. The delinquency rate fell to 1.1% for the quarter from a rate of 1.17% in the second, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion.
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