Stocks capture new records

Another day, another record for stocks

The major U.S. averages secured fresh records on Monday as investors continued to digest last week's two historic trade deals and focused on more positive U.S. economic data with homebuilder confidence hitting the highest level since 1999.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose over 100 points or 0.36 percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were both higher by as much as 0.7 percent and 0.9 percent respectively.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 39766.18 +6.10 +0.02%
SP500 S&P 500 5253.84 +5.35 +0.10%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 16405.018454 +5.50 +0.03%

President Trump celebrated the stock market's record in a tweet.

STOCK MARKET 'MELT-UP' COMING SOON: BANK OF AMERICA

Markets rose Monday despite minor changes in the language of the original USMCA agreement which centered around enforcement and would allow foreign labor inspectors to operate in Mexico, something opposed by the Mexican government.

Apple and Microsoft, the two biggest U.S. companies by market capitalization, rose to fresh records.

While Tesla posted one of its strongest closing prices after Credit Suisse turned positive on the stock after a long period of bearishness.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
AAPL APPLE INC. 173.31 +3.60 +2.12%
MSFT MICROSOFT CORP. 421.43 -0.22 -0.05%
TSLA TESLA INC. 179.83 +2.16 +1.22%

Boeing shares lost 4 percent, weighing on the Dow, after The Wall Street Journal reported the planemaker could cut back or even halt production of the 737 Max as it waits for regulatory approval to return to the skies. Executives had hoped a return to service could happen in January, but that is looking increasingly unlikely.

Late Monday, FedEx shares tumbled on a Wall Street Journal report that Amazon is restricting some sellers from using FedEx ground for deliveries.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
BA THE BOEING CO. 191.95 +4.45 +2.37%
FDX FEDEX CORP. 287.88 -1.11 -0.38%
AMZN AMAZON.COM INC. 179.83 +1.53 +0.86%

Meanwhile, shares of DuPont and International Flavors & Fragrances were on the move after announcing plans for the latter to merge with the former's nutrition and biosciences business. The deal, which when approved will create a consumer giant valued at more than $54 billion, gives DuPont shareholders a 55.4 percent stake in the new company.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
DD DUPONT DE NEMOURS INC. 76.50 +0.96 +1.27%
IFF INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS & FRAGRANCES INC. 85.64 +4.20 +5.16%

Pacific Gas and Electric shares tumbled about 14 percent after California Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected the utility's plan to emerge from bankruptcy.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
PCG PG&E CORP. 16.85 +0.12 +0.69%

Commodities held small gains with gold little changed at $1,481 an ounce and West Texas Intermediate crude oil higher by 0.21 percent at $60.25 a barrel.

U.S. Treasurys were lower with the yield on the 10-year note up 3.6 basis points at 1.877 percent.

In Europe, Britain's FTSE spiked 2.5 percent after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he wanted a Brexit vote to happen before Christmas. Elsewhere, France's CAC was higher by 1.1 percent and Germany's DAX gained 0.7 percent.

Overnight, China reported unexpectedly strong November factory activity and spending. Industrial production rose 6.2 percent from a year earlier, up from the previous month’s 4.7 percent. Retail sales growth rose to a five-month high of 8 percent from October's 7.2 percent.

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The major averages in Asia were flat to lower with China's Shanghai Composite and Japan's Nikkei little changed while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.4 percent.