07Nov2018 Market Close: Wall Street Surges, DOW Closes Up 545 Points After Midterms, SP 500 Up By 2.1%, Nasdaq Composite Ends Higher By 2.6%

Wall Street rallies on U.S. elections lead by tech, health stocks

U.S. stocks surged on Wednesday with broad gains led by the technology and healthcare sectors as investors, relieved to put midterm elections behind them, made bets that a divided Congress would be good for equities.

Tableau, Twilio, New Relic reports send cloud stocks skyward

Shares of cloud software sellers surged on Wednesday following quarterly reports and forecasts from Tableau Software, New Relic, Twilio and Rapid7 that added to Wall Street’s high expectations for the fast-expanding sector.

Strong car sales lift spirits at Brazil auto show

Automakers in Brazil last month notched their strongest sales in nearly four years, a leading trade group said on Wednesday, adding to optimism as the auto industry kicked off the biannual Sao Paulo International Motor Show.

Samsung gives first glimpse of foldable phone

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd unveiled its much-anticipated foldable phone at a conference for developers in San Francisco on Wednesday, urging Android programmers to start writing apps for the product.

Stocks rise after U.S. vote splits power; dollar slips

Most major stock markets rose on Wednesday after the U.S. midterm election divided control of Congress, while expectations of political gridlock in Washington weighed on the dollar.

Michigan vote to legalize pot fires up investor momentum behind cannabis

Michigan’s vote Tuesday to become the 10th U.S. state where the recreational use of cannabis is legal is adding more momentum to a trend that some investors now say is inevitable: that marijuana will become legal nationwide within the next 5 years.

Trump would consider regulating social media but urges caution

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would consider working with Democrats to regulate social media companies, after he and other conservatives accused companies such as Twitter Inc, Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google of allegedly stifling right wing views.

Boeing alerts pilots after Indonesia crash, FAA plans directive

Boeing Co said on Wednesday it had issued a safety bulletin reminding pilots how to handle erroneous data from a key sensor in the wake of last week’s Indonesian jetliner crash.

Dish beats profit estimates, expects more subscriber losses

Dish Network Corp beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit on Wednesday, as the U.S. satellite TV provider benefited from lower programming costs due to a blackout of Univision channels.

Stocks Surge On Midterm-Malaise But Bonds & Bullion Bid

500 Dow points… on an expected outcome? “That escalated quickly…”

Since The Dems were confirmed as taking the House last night, the dollar is down but bonds, stocks, and gold are all higher…

NOTE the odd panic bid in stocks at 3am.

After two afternoon sessions of recovery gains, China dumped into its close…seemingly unimpressed with Trump holding on to the Senate…

…

Stockman: The Demise Of Bubble Finance And The Folly Of Trump-O-Nomics

Authored by David Stockman via Contra Corner blog,

We are at a decisive pivot point and its far more consequential than the mid-term elections. Even then, we cannot but marvel at the utter complacency which still prevails in the casino.

We even heard one bubblevision talking head today suggesting that on the off-chance that the GOP retains the US House of Representatives (the Senate is virtually guaranteed to stay Republican), it will be mighty bullish for stocks. That’s because it would mean more fiscal stimulus, presumably another tax cut of the 10%/$200 billion cost variety that the Donald has been plugging out on the hustings.

We actually don’t know which is more pathetic. A putative GOP controlled government that would actually even consider adding another $200 billion on top of the $1.2 trillion Uncle Sam is already slated to borrow in the 10th year of a flagging business cycle expansion–and in the face of the Fed’s unprecedented $600 billion bond dumping campaign—or Wall Street operators who apparently do really think that Federal borrowing is what generates economic growth and business profits.

In any event, the boys and girls in the momo trade are about to find themselves up close and personal with the great central bank Pivot soon enough. Even Kuroda-son chimed in the other day from the red hot printing presses at the Bank of Japan suggesting that the time for “extraordinary” monetary accommodation has now passed.

So the hand-writing is on the casino’s lethargically blinking green screens. The 30-year monetary party is over, and the money printers which fueled that global bond bubble of the present era are about to become the bond-dumpers of tomorrow.

Adding to bond supply for sale rather than to demand for bonds to sequeste …

Credit Card Debt Unexpectedly Shrinks As Student Loans Hit Fresh Record High

One month after both revolving and non-revolving consumer credit hit fresh all time highs, the Fed reported that in September total consumer credit rose to $3.950 trillion, rising $10.9 billion in the month, or a 3.3% SAAR, and missing expectations of a $15 billion increase.

What was surprising is that or revolving debt, i.e., credit card usage, unexpectedly shrank by $312 million after jumping $4.6 billion in August. This was the 5th monthly decline in credit card usage in 8 months; it also means that in the 9 months of 2018, there has been a decline in revolving credit in more than half. Incidentally, until 2018, credit card debt had posted a streak of 4 consecutive years in which there had not been a single decline starting in 2014. With this month’s reduction, total revolving debt was $1.041 trillion.

‘Honeymoon’ Or ‘Hangover’ – One Trader Looks Beyond The Last 24 Hours

“This is the honeymoon,” says former fund manager and FX trader Richard Breslow, reflecting on the buying panic in US equities overnight (despite lower bond yields, lower dollar, and higher gold). However, Breslow reminds the over-enthused: this is “not for the rest of your life.”

Via Bloomberg,

Well I think we can all agree on one thing. It’s a good thing that the midterm elections are over. It was just too all-consuming an event to be healthy. Nothing short of war should grab the public attention to such an extent. It is a horrible shame that a democratically held election, conducted on a regular and guaranteed schedule, should inspire an analogy to a martial confrontation. But one thing that is clear is that whatever honeymoon period may ensue, it’s not all going to morph into some domestic and global love fest.

It’s a theme of the morning to say that with this event in the rear-view mirror, we can get back to trading the fundamentals. It matters not to interpret one day’s price action as connoting what these are. Markets may be somewhat good at discounting the future into current prices. But not that good. And events won’t cease to evolve in unpredictabl …

September 2018 Headline Consumer Credit Growth Slows

Written by Steven Hansen

The headlines say consumer credit rate of annual growth slowed relative to last month. Our analysis shows overall growth from last month.

A divided Congress could mean better commutes (hopefully)

Are the stars aligning for a much-needed infrastructure overhaul?

Deep Dive: Here’s a way to lower your stock-market risk and recover more quickly from declines

Marc Pinto of Janus Henderson describes a successful balanced approach.

5 ways the midterm election results will affect your health care

The GOP dream to repeal and replace Obamacare is now deferred.