US Attempts a New Year’s Rally

North American traders appear to have returned from the New Year’s holiday in an optimistic mood. US index futures are up 0.7% to 1.0%, quickly erasing Tuesday’s US index losses of 0.1% to 0.9%. Cryptocurrencies are also rallying with Bitcoin up 2.3% and Ether up 3.4%. Commodities are also climbing so far with Crude Oil […]

Stocks Stabilize on the Last Trading Day of 2024

US stocks are stabilizing this morning with index futures up 0.1%-0.3% as they try to claw back some of yesterday’s US index losses of 1.0%-1.2%. Over in Europe, trading is mixed with the Dax down 0.4% and the FTSE up 0.6%. The weakness of the last few days appears to be related to a combination […]

Stocks Slip as Treasury Yields Climb

Equity markets in the US were unable to build on Tuesday’s positive momentum, but major indices were able to shrug off early losses to finish the day essentially flat. Today US index futures are down 0.3%-0.4% as investors continue to grapple with the headwind of rising Treasury yields. In Europe today, the FTSE is flat […]

Global Markets Rebound as FOMC Decision Looms

Shrugging off yesterday’s US index losses of 0.3%-0.6%, US index futures are up 0.2%-0.4% this morning. Over in Europe, the FTSE is up 0.1% and the Dax is up 0.2%. Chinese markets are also bouncing back with Hong Kong rising 0.8% and Shanghai gaining 0.6%. Commodities are also picking up today with US Crude Oil […]

Stocks Backtrack Despite Strong Retail Sales

US trading is subdued this morning with index futures trading down 0.3%-0.5%. Even red-hot Broadcom, which soared another 11% yesterday, appears to be slowing down, dipping 0.5% in premarket trading. Over in Europe, the Dax is down 0.2%. The FTSE is down 0.8% on signs of stagflation as employment growth slowed and wage inflation accelerated. […]

Earnings Beats Boost US Stocks

Bouncing back from US index declines of 0.5% to 0.7% yesterday, US index futures are up 0.1% to 0.9% this morning. European markets are quiet with the Dax, CAC and FTSE all holding steady. Asia Pacific markets fell to end the week with the Hang Seng dropping 2.1% and the Nikkei sliding 1.0%. The US […]

China in the Spotlight for Positive and Negative Interventions

Generally speaking markets really hate it when governments get too involved in the economy or investing whether it be tariffs, sanctions, capital gains or dividend taxes, antitrust actions or other things. Nvidia is down 2.2% in premarket trading, dragging NASDAQ futures down 0.2% after China announced over the weekend that it has started an investigation […]

Global Markets Bounce Back in US Holiday Trading

Although US markets declined heading into the Thanksgiving/Black Friday holiday weekend with declines of 0.3% to 0.6% yesterday, stock markets around the world have been bouncing back this morning. In Europe, the Dax is up 0.7% as German consumer prices showed inflation pressures continue ease, and the FTSE is up 0.1%. Canadian TSX index futures […]

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 […]

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% […]