Gold Rallies As World Markets Consolidate and Earnings Roll Out
US index futures this morning, and Chinese markets overnight have been stabilizing following yesterday’s selloffs. Major US indices lost 0.75%-1.00% yesterday with the NASDAQ leading the way lower as sentiment soured toward the semiconductor sector. Trading action in Europe today is mixed. The FTSE is up 0.75% and the Pound is down 0.3% as weaker […]
Weak China Trade Numbers Crush Commodities
Overnight China reported a worse than expected trade surplus ($81.7B vs street $89.8B) due to lower than expected import (0.3% vs street 0.9%) and export (2.4% vs street 6.0%) growth. This news has sent shockwaves through world markets, once again increasing concerns about the health of its economy and the prospects for resource demand. To […]
US Earnings and Canada Jobs Come In Strong
US index futures are hovering around flat heading into a full long weekend for Canada and a partial long weekend for the US (banks closed, equities open Monday). Overseas, Shanghai fell 2.5%, but other major Asia Pacific and European markets have been essentially flat. The US 10-year treasury note yield is steady just below 4.10%. […]
Stocks Slip as Inflation and Unemployment Data Disappoint
US economic data out this morning paints a mixed picture. Consumer Prices fell from last month but not as much as the street hoped (2.4% vs street 2.3% and previous 2.5%). Meanwhile US weekly initial jobless claims jumped (258K vs street 225K) although that could be hurricane related. The inflation number weakens the case for […]
China Selloff Continues, US Consolidates Gains
China-sensitive markets continued their retreat overnight and into this morning. Shanghai fell 6.6% while Hong Kong fell another 1.4%. Copper remains under pressure falling another 1.0%. Crude Oil was soft overnight but has been bouncing back this morning. In addition to China, energy prices continue to be impacted by forces outside of demand including the […]
Commodities Fall as China Bears Strike Back
Sometimes no news is bad news. Sentiment toward China and related markets had improved dramatically over the last couple of weeks on anticipation of new stimulus for its struggling economy. That came to an abrupt end after comments by Chinese economic officials had no new commentary or details on stimulus. This news sent the Hang […]
Stocks Slide and Yields Rise To Start the Week
When looking at how equity markets respond to news we usually consider what does the news mean for liquidity (stocks like falling interest rates) and the economy (stocks like a positive environment for corporate earnings). Coming out of Friday’s very strong US Nonfarm Payrolls report, traders focus was that it was good for the economy […]
Nonfarm Payrolls Big Beat Sends Stocks Soaring
US nonfarm payrolls came in well above expectations (254K vs street 140K) sparking a surge in US index futures trading. The three main contracts are now up 0.3% to 0.8% with Nasdaq futures leading the way higher. Index futures had already been trending upward overnight on the news that US port workers agreed to call […]
Pound Plunge, Oil Rally and Employment Data In Focus Today
The China driven rally in equities and commodities of the last week appears to be fading. Hong Kong lost 1.4% overnight, Tokyo, which has been trading opposite to China markets in recent days, bounced back by nearly 2.0%. US index futures are down today, falling 0.1%-0.3%, as are most European indices, including losses of 0.4% […]
Oil Rallies on Growing Mideast Conflict
Iran’s missile attack against Israel sparked a rally in oil prices which has continued into today on fears that hostilities in the region could potentially escalate further. This morning US Crude Oil is up 3.0%, while Brent Crude is up 2.7%. Gold through this has been digesting previous gains, trading down 0.6% this morning near […]