US stock index futures were firmer in early trade this morning. They were firmer in early trade yesterday morning too. But that didn’t stop them turning lower as the session progressed. Yesterday’s move saw the S&P 500 hit lows last seen on Friday, 20th December when investors were dumping stocks following the Fed’s ‘hawkish rate cut’ from the previous Wednesday....
Asian Pacific stock indices were mixed overnight, with outsized losses across Chinese indices. This followed the release of another disappointing Manufacturing PMI, even though the Services sector continues to show expansion at a better-than-expected rate. It was a similar situation across Europe which had to deal with a dismal set of Manufacturing PMIs. But it’s...
While it’s true that yesterday wasn’t completely void of economic events, a disappointing Chicago PMI can’t really shoulder the blame, or take the credit, for the wild stock market swings that took place. The Dow was down 700 points first thing, on no news. It then rallied 500 soon after the US open, before dropping 200 in the last hour of trading. In S&P terms,...
Gold has had a tremendous year, having added 35% from early January to its new all-time high in October. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that it had an incredible eight months, rallying from below $2,000 in mid-February to $2,790 at the end of October, for a gain of 40%. But it has struggled since then. Fundamentally, there’s evidence that certain newer, and...
Last night the Federal Reserve surprised no one when it announced a 25 basis point rate cut, taking the Fed Funds band down to 4.25-4.50%, back to levels last seen two years ago. But that wasn’t the main story. The big news came with the release of the FOMC’s quarterly Summary of Economic Projections (SEP). This showed that the majority of FOMC members now expect...
US stock indices finished lower on Tuesday with the broad-based, domestically-focused Russell 2000 leading the decline. The Russell represents US mid-to-smaller-cap stocks, and closed down 1.2%. It has now lost over 5% since making a fresh all-time high three weeks ago, after rallying 11% in the aftermath of Trump’s election victory in early November. The Dow has...
Gold continues to struggle to regain its upside momentum. It was flat yesterday, and has drifted lower this morning. It is now trading back in a band of support/resistance around $2,630-$2,640. It doesn’t feel as if the selling pressure is over. While it could be exhausted if prices can maintain current levels, a retest of $2,600 cannot be ruled out. And a break...
US stock index futures began the week on the front foot this morning. All four majors were trading in positive territory, shrugging off a mixed close on Friday night, and a generally disappointing week. Only the tech-heavy NASDAQ registered a gain last week, and this was just a modest 0.3%. The S&P 500 lost 0.6%, while the Dow and Russell 2000 lost 1.8% and 2.7%...
Early yesterday, gold pushed back above $2,700 but ran into selling which drove it back down again. But buyers turned up just after the US open and soon gold was trading comfortably above $2,700 and testing prior resistance around $2,720. This was where gold topped out three weeks ago, just before the sharp sell-off when it dropped $110, or 4%, in just one day. It...
US stock index futures were little-changed in early trade this morning. This follows a second successive negative close for all the four US majors last night, although these losses were, like Monday’s, relatively modest. Overall, US equities are experiencing a slight loss of upside momentum. This should not be much of a surprise considering the extent of the...
Precious metals had a tremendous start to the week. Gold and silver flew higher in early trade yesterday in moves which saw gold push back above $2,650. Silver broke above $32 per ounce to hit its best level in over a month. Unfortunately, silver was unable to build on this move. It subsequently pulled back from its highs, although it still rallied over 2.5% on...
Crude oil is a touch firmer this morning. This has lifted front-month WTI back to where it started a week ago. Overall, last week split cleanly into a positive first half which saw WTI briefly break above $70 a barrel, and a dismal second half which saw it drop back to $67. In between there was a delayed OPEC+ meeting and the ousting of Assad from Syria. The...
Gold continues to consolidate in a narrow range. The bulls remain traumatised after the brutal sell-off from less than a fortnight ago. This saw gold drop $110 in a single session in a move which appeared to come out of nowhere. It has proved particularly damaging to bullish sentiment as it followed a 9% collapse in the first two weeks of November, just after gold...
Gold traded in a narrow range yesterday to end effectively unchanged. There was more of the same in early trade this morning. Gold bulls have been shaken by several recent events, the first being the protracted slump which followed Trump’s election victory in early November. Prices sliced below intermediate support at $2,600 in a move that must have driven out a...
All four major US stock indices inched into positive territory in early trade this morning. Yesterday, tech stocks led an advance which saw the NASDAQ add around 1% on the day, and the S&P gain 0.2%. The Russell 2000 was effectively unchanged, while the Dow slipped 0.3%. Overall, the recent price action has slowed to a steady grind higher. This follows the...
Crude oil was a touch firmer in early trade this morning, helped along by some barely OK manufacturing data from China. There’s an OPEC+ meeting on Thursday, postponed from yesterday, where the group is expected to extend its production cuts once again, this time from the end of this month. There’s a uneasy ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. At the...
Gold continues to fight back following the horrendous sell-off at the beginning of last week. Like many markets, gold tends to go up the stairs, but down in the lift, which can lead to some dramatic falls. It is also highly dispiriting for the bulls when they see a month’s-worth of small-step gains wiped out in a few hours. But this type of market move does tend...
Gold was looking a bit perkier this morning, having recovered from an initial slump lower on the Asian Pacific open. It has pushed up steadily since then, and is on course for a third consecutive positive session. Despite this, it has yet to break back above $2,660 – a level it sliced below easily on Monday, but which is currently acting as intermediate...
