The Dow was down over 100 points this morning. But the markets came roaring back.
First the scoreboard:
Dow: 12,985, +106.9, +0.8 percent
S&P 500: 1,409, +10.9, +0.7 percent
NASDAQ: 2,991, +23.9, +0.8 percent
And now the top stories:
- The U.S. housing recovery has been one of the most bullish economic stories in the world. However, one housing datapoint has been a laggard: new home sales.
- October new home sales came in at 368k, which missed economists' expectation for 390k. September's number was revised down to 369k from 389k. "With homebuyers continuing to be drawn by the bargains in the existing homes market, sales of new homes are likely to continue the underperformance in the medium term," wrote TD Securities Millan Mulraine. Here are 10 states where you can get bargains on foreclosed homes >
- Gold tanked today on no obvious news. There was, however, some chatter that a large options trade sparked the sell-off. Silver also fell today, but to a lesser degree.
- The fiscal cliff debate rages on. Republican House Speaker John Boehner said today that he is optimistic that a fiscal cliff deal can be reached with President Obama. Markets instantly took off on this, erasing all of this morning's losses. This is in contrast to yesterday when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he was "disappointed" by the lack of progress. Reid's comments were followed by a sharp sell-off.
- At 2:00 PM, the Fed released its Beige Book. And there were no real surprises. "Economic activity expanded at a measured pace in recent weeks, according to reports from contacts in the twelve Federal Reserve Districts," they wrote. They also noted that Hurricane Sandy and fiscal cliff uncertainties were hindering growth.
- Don't Miss: SocGen Has Put Together The Ultimate Presentation On Markets, Economics, And What Will Happen In 2013 >
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