US equities ended lower in Wednesday trading, near worst levels, with the Dow Jones, S&P500, and Nasdaq closing down 19bps, 39bps, and 58bps respectively. Labor market in focus again on the economic calendar with ADP private payrolls up 103K in November, below the 120K consensus. Market now has employment report on Friday and CPI next Tuesday as the key remaining pieces of data before the FOMC decision and updated dot plot on Wednesday. McDonald’s provided new long-term targets at its investor day.

US equities ended mostly lower on Tuesday for the second consecutive session, though the major indexes ended mixed with the Dow and S&P ending down 0.22% and 0.06%, respectively, and the Nasdaq ending up 0.31%. Although there was some drag from the Magnificent Seven yesterday, big tech was largely higher today with Apple (AAPL) faring well after a positive Foxconn update. However, market breadth was negative and there was some notable weakness from industrial metals, media, HPCs, department stores, energy, hotels, casinos, paper and packaging, auto suppliers, transports, regional banks, semis, IT equipment and China tech. Thus, there were not many pockets of outright strength, though refiners, managed care, P&C insurers, credit cards, pharma and biotech, and telecom did hold up better. Treasuries were firmer and near best levels after today's data, with the curve flattening after yields backed up on Monday and with 30Y yield near 4.30%, its lowest since September. The dollar was firmer on the major crosses, and Aussie weakness was the big story in FX following the RBA announcements. Gold finished down 0.3% while bitcoin futures were up 4.8% after a big rally on Monday. WTI crude settled down 1.0% in very choppy trading.

The big story today was renewed decline in yields on dovish labor market data. That said, there was not a meaningful directional driver for stocks. Looking ahead, it seems to be a waiting game for NFP on Friday, and then CPI and FOMC next week.

US equities ended mostly lower Monday as the major averages held in a fairly narrow range throughout the session. It was a fairly quiet session with bigger catalysts coming as the week progresses. Final October factory orders were a bit weaker than consensus.

US equities finished mostly higher in Thursday afternoon trading. Several moving pieces today, including more signs of disinflation, two-year high in continuing claims, upside surprise in regional manufacturing PMI, mixed earnings, status-quo Fedspeak (vs Waller's dovishness earlier this week), oil volatility and month-end dynamics. Headline PCE inflation a bit softer than expected in October while core PCE inflation in line.

US equities finished mixed, ending near worst levels in Wednesday trading, with the Dow Jones closing up 4bps, while the S&P500 and Nasdaq finished down 9bps and 16bps respectively. Lower yield backdrop remained the big story, and better software earnings were another bright spot. Fed's latest Beige Book reported economic activity declining in six of 12 Fed districts. Latest headlines suggesting Saudis pushing an output cut for tomorrow's OPEC+ meeting.

US equities finished slightly higher overall in quiet Tuesday trading, though ending off best levels from midday, with the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq finishing up 0.24%, 0.10%, and 0.29%, respectively. The magnificent 7 names were mostly higher with Tesla (TSLA) being a standout. Other outperformers included retail and apparel, credit cards, rails, commodity chemicals, beverages, and payments. Meanwhile, media, P&C insurers, pharma, MedTech, machinery, restaurants, and homebuilders were some of the laggards. Treasuries were firmer, particularly at the short end of the curve, with the 2Y yield near its lowest point since August. The dollar was weaker on the major crosses while Gold finished up 1.4%. Bitcoin futures were up 4.4% and WTI crude settled up 2.1%. Overall, the market experienced some push and pull from an underwhelming Treasury auction and from dovish Fedspeak today. The market still seems to be dealing with a catalyst vacuum ahead of November employment data on December 8th, CPI on December 12th, and the FOMC decision (and updated dot plot) on the 13th.

US equities finished lower in Monday trading, ending near worst levels after oscillating within a fairly narrow band. There was a notable miss from October new home sales, and September's big gain was revised lower. Today's 2Y auction tailed around 1bp, the first tail since July, though the 5Y auction was stronger.

US equities finished lower in very quiet, rangebound Tuesday trading. The Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq finished down 0.18%, 0.20%, and 0.59%, respectively. Today's session came after a higher finish on Monday that saw the S&P reach its highest level since August. Big tech was mixed, while retailers were generally down amid today's welter of earnings. Semis, airlines, banks, autos, media, REITs, and homebuilders were some of the other laggards. Meanwhile, MedTech, life sciences, P&C insurers, food and beverage, managed care, A&D, and telecoms held up better. Treasuries were mostly unchanged, though a bit firmer with modest gains in belly of the curve after some positive sentiment on Monday surrounding the 20-year auction. The dollar index was up 0.2% while gold finished up 1.1%. Bitcoin futures were off 1.4%, and WTI crude settled down 0.1% after gaining nearly 2.5% on Monday. Overall, there were no big directional drivers in play today. The lower rate backdrop on disinflation and peak Fed traction are still a tailwind for risk sentiment, along with lingering consumer resilience, recent earnings inflection, margin expansion, and seasonality. Another major talking point were the November FOMC minutes, which noted that the Fed is in a position to proceed carefully. All officials saw rates remaining restrictive for some time, fitting with the higher for longer messaging, though that has come under some scrutiny following recent inflation, labor market data and corporate updates.

US equities closed higher in very quiet Monday trading, adding to good gains from last week. Richmond Fed's Barkin said that there may still be work to do on inflation, which has been "stubborn." MSFT was higher amid news that former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will join the company to lead a new research team.

Note: The Podcast will not be published on 22-24 November due to the holiday. The comment will resume on 27-November.

US equities rallied this week as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both capped off a third-straight week of gains, while the small-cap Russell 2000 posted its second-best weekly performance of the year. Tuesday's October CPI declined on an annualized basis for the first time in four months. Beyond the cooler October CPI and PPI prints, data this week included more evidence of a cooling labor market as initial jobless claims missed and was the highest since 18-Aug, while continuing claims also missed and hit the highest level since Nov-21.