with tyler mathisen.business nasdaq 7,000. the index that fueled the rally in 2017 closes above a key psychological level for the firs ever. new year, new laws. some are quirky. but a number of them could impact business and your money. and why the american-made small car is slowly fading away, tonight on "nightly business " 2nd. good evening, everyone, and welcome. inve are ringing in the new year with new records. on the first day of trading of 2018, the nasdaq closed above 7,000 for the first time. the s&p 500 reached a fresh all-time high. and today's action was led by a

rally in technology stocks, the same sector that was a big winner last year. today the blue chip dow index was up 104 points. the nasdaq advanced 103. and the s&p rose 22 points to a record. after today's gains, investors are paying close attention to a number of key psychological levels for t major indexes. .ob pisani is at the new york >> another big day for the markets. what's it all mean? not mucha tec perspective. t they are attractive targets for traders to use as a sign of the markets' advance. dow, 25,000, only about 200 points away, less than 1%. if you think we've hit this big round number in the dow every two mont, you're right. we had 22,000 in august, 23,000 in october, 24,000 in november, even the skeptics agree that dow

e big round number. round number number two, nasdaq. smaller tech companies like seagate and industrial names like tractor supply and retailers like costco have been strong recently. a lot of this contributing. round number three, s&p 500. many analysts had 3,000 for an overall target for 2018, a move up of 8%. for "nightly business r bob pisani at the new york stock exchange. >> new year, new record. what's next? brian levitt joins us, happy new year, glad to have you with us. we're off to a nice footing today, at the very at least. give us your overall view of the global economic landscape in

which investors will ha to put their money to work this year. >> it's a nice backdrop for investors. if you take a look aro world, most of the major economies are growing above trend. that's something different than what we saw in years like 2013, 2014, 2015. that's a good sign. you also have inflation generally low across most of the world, even coming down in the emerging markets. you have policymakers which continue to provide support to this ongoing global expansion. >> what about the tax reform that we've seen passed? a lot of peopl think longer term it will provide some stronger economic growth. other people do not think it will. where do you come down on that debate and its impact on the market? >> at the very least it provides a boon to corporate earnings. you've seen that recently with improvements in financial stocks, consumer discretionary names. those are among the biggest beneficiaries. the question is at this point in the cycle, can we see the united states move up to a new higher

sustained level of growth? i am skeptical. now, what that means for investors, what you saw today was investors favoring growth stocks, much as they favored growth stocks in 2017. if we're to move to a new higher sustained level of growth, you would want to value the more value-oriented parts of the market, things like financials, perhaps energy companies. so i would continue to focus on growth, wherever we can find it, and what's likely to still be a slow growth world. the other side, there are investors saying this is the beginning of the value rally. again, i'm skeptical. >> slow growth and low inflation generally is a pretty nice recipe for equities across the board. but you can -- but what really matters here, brian, it seems to me, is the level of corporate profit growth, which could be a lot greater than the level of economic growth. what do you see? >> corporate profitability will

be quite sound. a lot of parts of the market and parts of the economy are growing faster than the broad gdp. those companies will be the beneficire that were the beneficiaries in 2017. the backdrop for u.s. companies, the backdrop for global companies, is quite good. investors have been fighting this market, a secular bull market, every step along the way. in our minds this cycle is not going to end anytime soon. it's a good backdrop for companies. ins sho participating. >> do interest rates matter, does the fed matter to this market? >> absolutely. in this still relatively slow growth world, the federal re does have to proceed with some caution. we've seen the yield curve flatten in 2017 as expectations have fed interest rate hikes, in 2018 came on board, the ten-year treasury did not move up significantly. the fed is going to continue to raise interest rates, you would need to see long rates

back up amid expectations o real economic activity or inflation. t that, the fed is going to have to be cautious. i don't expect long rates to go up significantly. i think you might see some inflation. but the fed is going to have to proceed with caution. if the fed gets too tight, they may curtail this cycle. >> brian, thank you very much for your help tonight. brian levitt with oppenheimer funds. a number of geopolitical events are also rumbling beneath market's surface. there is the threat from north korea and there is iran, where tensions are rising, protests are spreading, and the death toll is growing. violent demonstrations have erupted. nikki haley said the u.s. cannot remain silent and is calling for an emergency session in the u.n. in the coming days. as michelle caruso-cabrera

reports. >> reporter: the ongoing protests in iran are the most violent since 2009 since students rose up in response to what they believed was a rigged election. politi observers say the current uprising which started thursday is significantly different. >> this one is more broad based. it's occurring in many, many more cities. previously really centered in tehran, more a youth intellectual movement. this one, there's dissatisfactio in the iranian population with lack of growth in the iranian economy which they were promised. >> reporter: protesters are angry about a sharp rise in the cost of food. inflation reached as high as 32% back in 2013. unemployment also a problem in iran. 12.4%, according to iran's statistical office. for men it's only 10.7% but for women, almost 21%. youth unemployment even worse, 29%. for young men, 25%.

for young women, 44%. the economy did improve after some sanctions were removed by the obama administration as part of the nuclear deal. it allowed iran to sell oil again. gdp growth from 2016 to 2017 was nearly 7.5%. however growth in the non-oil sector was less than 1%. there is still extensive government intervention into the economy in terms of price controls and subsidies. and the revolutionary guard control large swaths of the economy. experts are divided on whether or n these protests will lead to regime change. >> the supreme leader can and will use ruthless force to put them down if he has to. that could be around the corner. >> reporter: but the death of so many protesters could have a ripple effect. >> once we start having funerals, we could get into a 40-day cycle of mourning and t which is ultimately what brought the regime down in 1979. >> reporter: how the government reacts could determine whether

these protests escalate or fizzle out. michelle caruso-cabrera. >> iran is, after all, opec's third biggest oil producer. uncertainty surroundi output from that country caused prices to rise earlier today, but then those gains fizzled away. domestic crude finished the session down slightly to about $60 a barrel. meantime, natural gas prices were pushed higher, now up 15% over the past week, thanks to temperatures that are well below normal across large parts of the country. along with the cold snap came increased demand for heating oil. according to data from point logic energy, the u.s. burned the most natural gas ever yesterday, breaking a record set during the so-called polar vortex in 2014. the deep freeze also lifted shares of the auto parts retailers because cold weather can weaken batteries and thicken engine oil, leading to greater wear and tear. the commodity sector in 2017

was helped by a pickup in economic growth across the globe. so what's in store for key commodities this year? jackie deangel tak a look. >> reporter: commodity price fluctuations continued to surprise investors this year. gold lost some of its luster. oil never rebalanced. gasoline prices remained relatively high even with more supply coming online. here is what to expect in 2018. gold prices stall. in 2017, gold lost its safe haven status as stocks rallied. the precious metal traded more on fed-related moves and will continue t so this year. with rate hikes on the horizon, expect gold to continue to stall in 2018. oil is range-bound. crude moved from the low 40s to around $60 a barrel this year. oversupply pushed prices lower. opec moved prices higher. that push and pull will continue next year. shale producers will pump. opec will hold its cut. those two opposing forces will jostle the market.

gasoline prices remain high. gas prices always rise faster than they fall. even if crowd pric prices stay e $40 to $60 range, higher prices aren't in the cards. i'm jackie deangelis for "nightly bus >> as jackie detailed, commoditie ended on a high note. good to see you again, john, happy new year. >> happy new year to you too. >> what does it look like for the energy sector this year? >> there's a general theme in commodities, sue. particularly in the price action that we saw towards the end of the year as the tax reform package crystallized, as some of the measures that many companies are taking in terms of higher wages, special bonuses, investments in different things. i think the prospect for inflation generally may be

greatly underestimated at this point. i think it's why you're seeing gold potentially now break out to its recent high, $1350 an ounce. there is so much economic growth and activity going on around the world. manufactur pmis are through the roof, for example. this is a survey of factories and how much they're operating, what their order flow is looking like. there's a chase on for goods and services around the globe for everything, all kinds of stuff. and so that is pushing prices. >> that helps commodities, separati from oil and gas, which we'll talk more about, i'm sure. but if you look at copper, lumber, things used in building trades around the world, i would think if there's a drive to inflation and strong demand, that's going t push up the prices. >> and i think you're seeing it first here in the commodity sector. i know we're not seeing it in terms of wage inflation yet. and other areas that most economists focus on. commodity folks, we're a little

simpler. we see stuff being drawn down in terms of inventories. >> a technical term, "stuff." >> it's a commodity view of this thing. >> what role will china play, either in the boom in commodities or, you know, when china slows down we see pressure in commodity markets. >> that's right, they'll continue to play a big one. also, too, they can remain active in trying to support and further their economy, but they do sort of lurching or halting things, if you will. in an effort to fight their pollution problem, they've cut back drastically on their own mining of things like copper and other production of other heavy metals or things like cement. so -- >> they have to get it somewhere else. >> they're importing a lot more of it so they're making less themselves, importi more from abroad. >> when will it get warmer, john? i'm worried about my heating bill. oil or natural gas, highest demand ever yesterday for natural gas, a lot of people

watching that rose bowl game at home, i guess. do you see prices sustaining for the next few months in natural gas and oil? >> natural gas, first of all, it's going to be hellacial in the northeast. you mentioned a record amount of gas burned on wednesday. on saturday it's a weekend, less industry involved. but what we're seeing is a shift from coal to natural gas sees us burning a lot more of it whenever there's heat or cold. that's what we're seeing right now. i think the price of natural gas, just at $2.56 a unit at the low point, will be north of 4 potentially by the end of january. >> oh, wow. >> we'll pull out about a quarter of our natural gas supplies just over the course of january if things keep up. >> so get ready for higher bills. >> right. get ready for higher bills. there's a little bit of a buffer and a time lag because utilities

have to take it and process it and hit you with an increase down the road. the one downward pressure potentially is for oil. as much as there is demand there for it and refined products, there is a ton of supply. you don't have that with the other commodities. >> true. john, thank you. >> thank you. >> thanks for the bad news, john. still ahead, lawmakers have a long to-do list and not republican senator orrin hatch plans to retire. hatch is the longest serving gop senator and head of the finance committee, which of course played a key role in writing the tax bill that passed last year. the 83-year-old will retire at

the end of year, bringing a decades-long congressional to an end. and it could potenti pave the way for mitt romney to run for the seat. romney has not made any definitive statement about his plan. it may be a new year, but when lawmakers return to capitol hill tomorrow, they'll start tackling the budget. congress approved a measure to fund the government last year, but just through january 19th. a number of thorny issues will likely be linked to this battle. john harwood follows the story tonight from washington. good to see you, john, happy new year. >> repor hap new year. >> let's start with the budget battles. what are you expecting and how contentious or difficult could things really get? >> reporter: well, sue, i think the watchword for 2018 is going to be low expectations from congress. i do think we will have a government shutdown. i think republicans and democrats will get together on a deal that raises the current spending caps for defense

spending and correspondingly raises them for domestic programs as well. that's a way to bring the two parties together. but that also, because it will result in a higher deficit, is going to ensure that it is more difficult to get things like infrastructure, which the president and gop leaders had hoped to have some action on, because there isn't going to be as much money lying around. >> immigration is also a contentious issue. what can we expect there and on the program known as daca, deferred action for childhood arrival? >> reporter: that's going to be diff to move, although there are the outlines of a deal if republicans choose to make it. democrats are insisting on some progress or resolution for those daca, those dreamer recipients, in return for their votes to keep the government open. and they think because of the importance of latino voters, they're going to have leverage to get what they want there. the challenge for republicans is that their base, the most

conservative part of their party, is very opposed to a deal on daca, and there's the potential that members of congress who vote in favor of such a deal might find primary opposition from fellow republicans. so i would marginally expect that they will have some resolution of the daca issue. the president has said he wants one. it's not going to easy to achieve. likely to be the most difficult part of this budget fight. >> john, as always, thank you. john harwood in washington tonight. amazon and salesforce repo look to move away from oracle. that's where we begin tonight's market focus the news site the information, both tech giants are making significant progress towards replacing oracle's database software. if they succeed in finding lower cost alternatives, it could be proof that other big businesses can do the same. shares of oracle off more than 1% at $46.63.

the oil giant bp said new tax policy will shave off $1.5 billion from its fourth quarter earnings. desp the hit the company said it expects the new lower corporate tax rate that takes effect this year will have a positive impact on its full year results. bp shares were up a fraction to $42.38. and weight watchers has signed the music producer d.j as a social media ambassador. is using the new weight watche program and he will share that on facebook and snapchat. i won't be watching any of them. weight watcher stock rose 8% to $47.83. sears is reportedly pulling back from tv advertising. "the wall street journal" says

the struggling retailer, which has been sla and closing stores, spent $15 million on ads last year. shares of sears climbed 5%. rent-a-center says its ceo has resigned to be replaced by the company's former president. the rent-to-own furniture retailer has been under pressure from two activist hedge funds to sell itself. shares closed down more than 5% to $10.48. the calendar says it's 2018. you can't deny it. that means there are a number of new laws across the country that took effect with the ringing in of the new y >> reporter: it's a new year, which means new laws are kicking in across the country. some are common sense, while others are unexpected. in california, marijuana becomes legal for recreational use. that means drivers and passengers will not be able to ingest while on the road, just

like with alcohol. wages have also been hiked in 18 states and 20 municipalities nationwide so minimum wage workers are ringing in the new year with raises. in illinois, the wellbeing of pets will now be considered in divorce cases. the court can allocate joint or sole ownership of pets based in part on their welfare. service animals are exempt. schools can't expel kids in pre-k anymore. they have to be documented for difficult behavior and can be transferred to other programs if they are difficult. but parental permission is needed. in pennsylvania, a permit for using consumer fireworks is being removed. but many don't bother getting those permits to begin with. in tennessee, barbers can now make house calls. previously this was only an option if the client were ill. the barber does need to have a residential barber certificate in order to operate via home visit. and good news for people who like to get wild on social media. vermont will now prohibit employers from requiring or requesting that employees or

applicants disclose personal information or access accounts in front of employers. for "nightly business r" m kate rogers. coming up, shifting gears. are we witnessing the demise of am billionaire investor peter thiel is reportedly making a big investment in bitcoin. thiel is one of the bold faced names in silicon valley. the venture capital fund he founded has amassed hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of bitcoin. an early investor in

facebook. amazon shipped 5 billion items worldwide with its prime membership last year. that's the first time the company released that information. amaz still won't say how many consumers across blo participate in its amazon prime membership programs. 2017 marked the safest year in commercial aviation history. according to a dutch consulting firm, airlines recorded zero accident deaths in commercial passenger jets last year. that data excludes cargo flights, military transports and accidents caused by international acts. the average number of airliner accidents and fatalities has been falling for the past two decades. almost a year after donald trump became president, promising to bring auto production back to the u.s., the industry is in transition. several automakers have announced plans to expand production in the u.s. but in almost every case, they are building more trucks and suvs. in comparison, fewer cars, especially small ones, are rolling off american assembly

lines. >> reporter: these are good times for american auto workers. profits are strong. wages are rising. and almost every plant is running at close to capacity. but look closer at what they're building. you'll see the american-made small car or sedan is slowly fading away. through november of last year, cars made in the u.s. by the big three were down at least 14%, with the biggest drop coming from fiat chrysler, which said it will stop building cars in the u.s. and instead expand production of more profitable trucks and suvs. >> it's an interesting example but they're a little bit different than most of the industry. when they initially announced canceling small and mid-sized sedan production, the plan always was to replace those vehicles with other vehicles. and then it just never happened. >> reporter: what changed? just five years ago, fiat chrysler made a big deal about

t build the dodge dart at its plant near rockford, illinois. si then, the combination of relatively cheap gas and a greater selection of more fuel efficient crossovers and suvs has convinced a growing number of americans to ditch their cars and pay a little more for something bigger. >> the gap between a small and mid-sized de ed sedan in fuel e is smaller than ever, and consum jumbping on that. >> reporter: sales of suvs and crossovers were up 6% while overall auto sales declined last year. there are still assembly lines cranking out small cars. toyota p to add a new plant to build the corolla here in the u.s. but overall, you can expect auto workers to build more trucks and suvs. critics say there could be problems if there's a sudden spike in gas prices. but for now prices at the pump remain relatively low as does

demand for small cars and sedans. phil lebeau, "nightly business . before we go, here's another look on how stocks performed on this first trading day in the new year. the dow added 104 points. nasdaq advanced 103, closing above 7,000 for the first time. and the s&p 500 rose 22 to another fresh record. quite a day. that's "nightly business for tonight. i'm sue herera. thanks for joi us. >> i'm tyler mathisen. have a great evening, everybody. we'll see you right back

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