Dow tumbled 705, decliners over advancers better than 4-1 & NAZ sank 317.  The MLP index was off 3+ to the 213s & the REIT index pulled back 6+ to the 382s.  Junk bond funds declined along with stocks & Treasuries were purchased (but not heavily), reducing yields.  Oil slid back to the 76s & gold dropped 30 to 1788.

AMJ (Alerian MLP index tracking fund)

Consumers spent less in Nov on retail & food services as the sector continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic & inflation-related pressures.  The Census Bureau reported American shoppers spent $689B last month as sales for retail & food services slipped 0.6%, after moving 1.2% higher month over month in Oct.  Despite the drop in monthly sales, on an annual basis sales climbed 6.5%.  Also in Nov, retail trade sales fell 0.8% from the prior month, but increased 5.4% year over year.  Meanwhile, gasoline stations were up 16.2% from Nov 2021, as food services & drinking places moved 14.1% higher from the same period last year.

Retail sales slow as consumers spend less in November

The central banks of the UK, eurozone & Switzerland increased interest rates by 0.5 percentage point, following the Federal Reserve in slowing the pace of increases as inflation edges lower across advanced economies.  The ECB said it would raise its key rate to 2% from 1.5%, the highest level since 2009 & added it "expects to raise [rates] significantly further, because inflation remains far too high and is projected to stay above the target for too long."  The bank also said it would reduce its multitrillion-dollar bondholdings starting in Mar, by €15B a month on average at first.  ECB policy makers are wrestling with stubbornly high inflation, which is likely to linger for longer in Europe than in the US European policy makers are spending heavily to support embattled consumers & businesses, while contending with prolonged high energy prices, fueled by Russia's war in neighboring Ukraine & accelerating wage growth.  All that is likely to keep inflation high.  Investors will now turn to ECB Pres Christine Lagarde's news conference for clues as to how high eurozone rates could rise & how much the ECB might trim its bond portfolio.  Unloading that debt will likely put pressure on highly indebted govs in Southern Europe by pushing up their borrowing costs.  The Fed has been unloading bonds since Jun.  Investors expect Europe's major central banks to increase rates by more than the Fed over the next 12 months, as inflation proves stickier in Europe.  While inflation is starting to decline in both regions, it fell by 1.5 percentage points in the US since Jun, to 7.7% in Oct.  In the eurozone, inflation edged down to 10% in Nov from a record-high 10.6% in Oct.  In the UK, inflation eased to 10.7% in Nov from a 4-decade high of 11.1% in Oct.

ECB, BOE raise rates by half a percentage point

Russia warns U.S. of 'unpredictable consequences' if it sends Patriot Missile Systems to Ukraine

Just another dreary day for stocks.  The retail sales data was not welcomed by investors.  As has been the case recently, interest rate hikes in the US are followed by euro central banks.  Then there is the war in Ukraine which must be watched by everybody!!

Dow Jones Industrials