The major US averages notch four-week win streak

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Friday, as the major averages notched a four-week winning streak.

The 30-stock Dow rose 117.12 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 35,390.15. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 ticked higher by 0.06 per cent to end at 4,559.34. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.11 per cent, closing at 14,250.85.

Major retail shares rose slightly as Black Friday kicked off the holiday shopping season. Walmart and Target rose 0.9 per cent and 0.74 per cent, respectively, while Amazon ticked higher by 0.02 per cent.

For the week, the Dow gained 1.27 per cent, while the S&P 500 advanced 1 per cent. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.89 per cent in that time. It’s the fourth consecutive positive week for the major averages — the longest for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq since June. The Dow, meanwhile, hasn’t posted a weekly run this long since April.

The moves come as Treasury yields this week hit multi month lows on hope inflation is cooling and the Federal Reserve may be done raising rates. The benchmark rate was up 6 basis points at around 4.476 per cent on Friday.

Turning to US sectors, Health was the best performer on Friday. Communication Services was the worst performer.

In commodity-related news, OPEC and its allies including Russia, known as OPEC+, will discuss on Thursday production cuts in 2024. There is much speculation that OPEC+ would likely maintain or even increase oil supply cuts into next year to support falling prices.

For local investors, October's retail sales will be released on Tuesday and the monthly CPI print on Wednesday. NAB anticipates a -0.4 per cent decline in retail sales and expects the monthly CPI indicator to fall to 5.2 per cent y/y in October, with a further drop below 5 per cent likely in November due to various factors, including fuel and electricity prices.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.2 per cent gain.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 7:40 AM was buying 65.82 US cents.

Commodities

Gold added 0.51 per cent. Silver gained 2.74 per cent. Copper added 0.63 per cent. Oil fell 2.02 per cent.

Figures around the globe

European markets closed higher. London’s FTSE added 0.06 per cent, Frankfurt gained 0.22 per cent, and Paris closed 0.20 per cent higher.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 0.52 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.96 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.68 per cent lower.

The Australian share market closed 0.16 per cent higher at 7041.

Ex-dividends

Red Hill Minerals (ASX:RHI) is paying 10 cents fully franked
Whitefield Ind Ltd (ASX:WHF) is paying 10.25 cents fully franked

Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.

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