Stocks, ETFs Mixed After Higher PPI, Industrial Production Reports
December 15th at 10:00am by Tom Lydon
Stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs) were mixed this morning after the Labor Department reported that producer prices in November surged by a higher-than-expected 1.8%.
The 1.8% rise in inflation at the wholesale level was more than double what economists had expected. The price jump reflects a surge in energy prices, such as jet fuel, and other products, reported Martin Crutsinger for the Associated Press.
Over the past 12 months, wholesale prices rose 2.4% – the biggest gain over an annual period since October 2008. Core inflation (excluding food and energy) rose 0.5%, the biggest increase in more than a year. (For more stories on inflation and ETFs, please see our inflation category).
In a positive economic development, the Federal Reserve said today that U.S. industrial production rose by 0.8% in November, the biggest rise in three months. This number shows that the world’s largest economy is gaining speed heading into 2010, reports Bob Willis for Bloomberg. Capacity utilization, which measures the proportion of plants in use, increased to 71.3% last month from 70.6% in October.
The stronger-than-expected economic data has sent Treasuries lower and the dollar higher, report Rita Nazareth and Justin Carrigan for Bloomberg.
On the back of these economic reports, the U.S. dollar hit its highest level in more than two months today. Currently, the PowerShares DB U.S. Dollar Index Bullish (NYSE: UUP) is up more than 0.5% for the day. (For more on currency ETFs, please see our currency category).
The 10-year Treasury note rose to its highest level in several months, rising four basis points to a yield of 3.59%. The iShares Barclays 7-10 Year Treasury Bond Fund (NYSE: IEF) is currently down $0.33 to $90.34. The 52-week range for this ETF has been between $87.70 and $100.31. (For more stories on Treasury ETFs, please see our treasury ETFs category).
Energy stocks were pushed higher today. Oil gained gained nearly 2% in trading, snapping its longest losing streak since 2001. (For more stories on natural gas, please see our natural gas category).
The PowerShares Dynamic Energy Exploration & Production ETF (NYSE: PXE) is currently up by more than 0.5%. (For more stories on sector ETFs, please our sector ETFs category).
Tony D’Altorio contributed to this article.
