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 The major stock indexes went nowhere on Monday as the markets are still quiet between last week's Christmas holiday and this week's New Year's holiday that will again see US markets close on Thursday. But despite little change in the averages, by virtue of a positive close the S&P 500 made another all-time high. First, the scoreboard: - Dow: 18,038.2, -15.5, (-0.1%)
- S&P 500: 2,090.6, +1.8, (+0.1%)
- Nasdaq: 4,806.9, +0.05, (0%)
And now, the top stories on Monday: 1. Oil crashed again. On Monday, West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell briefly below $53 a barrel, the lowest since May 2009. WTI crude was near $105 a barrel in June, and has now lost almost 50% of its value. Also in oil news, the number of US oil and gas rigs in operation fell again, declining by 35 last week according to the latest data from oil driller Baker Hughes. With this decline, the number of US oil and gas rigs in operation is down to 1,840 from 1,920 earlier this month. 2. The latest manufacturing report from the Dallas Federal Reserve missed expectations, with the report's composite index coming in at 4.1 against expectations for a reading of 9. This was also lower than November's 10.5 reading. The report showed that business leaders in Texas across a range of industries are concerned about the declining price of oil, with one executive in the metal products manufacturing sector telling the Dallas Fed the drop in oil prices was "going to make thing ugly ... quickly." 3. The Russian ruble collapsed again, falling 9% against the US dollar on Monday alone. One dollar currently buys you around 58.5 rubles, and at the start of the day Monday, one dollar was worth around 53.5 rubles. This latest leg lower in the currency, which has been one of the worst performing currencies in the world this year, follows an announcement from Russia's Economy Ministry that GDP contracted 0.5% from a year earlier. 4. The Greek stock market had a wild day, falling as much as 11% before closing down around 4% after the final round of parliamentary presidential elections failed to pick a winner. For the third time this month, Greece's parliament failed to secure 180 votes in favor of any one presidential candidate, forcing a snap election which will be held in January. Business Insider's Mike Bird has the full breakdown here. 5. Burger chain Shake Shack formally filed for its IPO, revealing that for the first nine months of this year revenue totaled $83.8 million on same-shack-sales that are up 3% year-to-date. Shake Shack also earned $5.4 million in net income in 2013, as revenue has growth from just $19.5 million in 2010 and the number of locations has risen from 7 to 63 over that period. To see Shake Shack's growth, these are the two charts to note. Don't Miss: David Tepper Thinks 2015 Will Be A Good Year For Stocks » |
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