Market Begins Week On A Positive Note

On Monday, the US stock market finished the trading session with moderate growth of the main indices after the largest week's loss since August. Since the beginning of the week, traders are concentrating on the upcoming meeting of the Fed and trying to find in published macroeconomic statistics the key to the outcome of this meeting, and making their mind up if volumes of QE will actually be reduced or will be kept on the present levels. Be reminded that the beginning of cutting off the program of quantitative easing at December's meeting is expected by about a third of all economists - the others are still leaning towards the March meeting.

As for the macroeconomic statistical data published yesterday, it became known that industrial production in November increased by 1.1% against average forecasts of growth of 0.5%. October growth rates of industrial production were reconsidered from -0.1% to 0.1%. Labor productivity increased in the third quarter by 3%, whereas an increase by 2.8% was expected.

Following the results of the trading session, the indicator of blue chips of Dow Jones Industrial Average raised by 0.82% to the level of 15884.83 points, the index of the wide market Standard & Poor's 500 increased by 0.63% to a level of 1786.54 points, and the index of high-tech industries of Nasdaq Composite went to a plus on 0.71% and reached the level of 4029.52 points.

Leading stock indices of Europe on Monday also grew against favorable corporate news and macroeconomic statistics. One of the leaders of growth was the German DAX index which added 1.7% in the context of strong indicators of business activity in the industrial sector of Germany which were recently published. The corresponding PMI index of the production sector of Germany grew in December to maximum levels for the last 2.5 years, which says volumes about the essential increase of activity in the German industry, which could pull the entire European economy out of where it is, and into the positive zone, despite the worsening situation in France. The summary, the index of business activity of the Eurozone, characterizing the situation in the industry, and in the service sector, grew to 52.1 points from 51.7 points a month earlier, which testifies to proceeding towards the recovery of the European economy as a whole.

In the commodity market, prices for Oil are slightly down and prices for precious metals are slightly increasing in value. Brent is traded on a level of 109.32$ per barrel, and losing 0.08%, WTI is decreasing by 0.16%to the level of 97.61$ per barrel. Gold and Silver are up by 0.03% and 0.16% accordingly, bargaining next to the levels of 1244.76$ and 20.13$ per troy ounce.