Dow gained 115, advancers over decliners better than 3-2 & NAZ was off 3.  The MLP index added 2+ to the 241s & the REIT index stayed in the 366s.  Junk bond funds continued mixed & Treasuries had more selling, driving yields higher.  Oil jumped 2+ to the 85s, its high in 2023,& gold inched up 1 to 1967 (more on both below).

AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)

Mortgage rates take a dip ahead of Labor Day weekend: Freddie Mac

  The stock rose 11.90 (21%).
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Dell raises forecast fueled by AI, hardware sales

Russian Pres Vladimir Putin said that he will soon meet with Chinese Pres Xi Jinping as the Kremlin's war in Ukraine drags on.  “Soon enough we will have some events and there will be a meeting with the Chinese President [Xi Jinping],” Putin said.  “He [Xi] calls me his friend, and I am happy to call him my friend, because this is a man who personally does a lot for the development of Russian-Chinese relations and cooperation in different areas,” Putin added.  Since Russia's invasion of its ex-Soviet neighbor, the US & its allies have imposed rounds of coordinated sanctions vaulting Russia past Iran & North Korea as the world's most-sanctioned country.  White House officials have previously expressed deep concerns about China's alignment with Russia & the possibility that the world's 2nd-largest economy may aid Moscow as the Kremlin's war heads into its 600th day.  The last time the 2 leaders met was in Mar at the Kremlin.  A month later, Xi spoke on the phone for the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion with Ukrainian Pres Volodymyr Zelenskyy.  Putin & Xi's upcoming meeting also comes amid steady gains by Ukrainian forces on the battlefield.  The White House said Ukrainian forces have made “notable progress” in southern Zaporizhzhia in the last 72 hours.

Putin says he will soon meet with China President Xi as war in Ukraine drags on

Gold futures posted a modest gain, with prices for the front-month contract up 1.4% for the week.  When there is a cooling in jobs data, combined with the expectation that the Federal Reserve will reconsider another rate hike this month, gold prices are expected to rise.  However, this same fundamental data is causing a pullback in bonds & a spike in Treasury yields, which is creating a tug-of-war between gold & the ancillary players that affect prices.  Dec gold edged up by $1 to settle at $1967 an ounce after trading as highs as $1980.

Gold futures inch higher for the session, gain more than 1% for the week

Oil futures marked their highest settlement of the year, with front-month US benchmark prices up 7.2% for the week.  With Saudi Arabia cutting exports by 1M barrels a day in Aug & likely to extend cuts into Q4, the market is rightly pricing in an outlook of tighter inventories as 2024 approaches.  Oct West Texas Intermediate crude climbed $1.92 (2.3%) to settle at $85.55 a barrel.  Prices based on front-month contract ended at their highest since Nov 2022.

Oil futures log highest settlement year to date

Dow Jones Industrials