JimHuangChicago

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: E-Mini S&P 500 Options ( CME_MINI:ES1! ), E-Mini Nasdaq 100 Options ( CME_MINI:NQ1! ) Last Friday, the S&P 500 closed at 5,277.5, up 10.6% year-to-date. The Nasdaq Composite settled at 16,735.0, advancing 11.5% YTD. This year, the chances of aggressive interest rate cuts diminished rapidly amid solid employment data and cooling US inflation. However, these...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

NYMEX: WTI Futures ( NYMEX:CL1! ) and WTI Weekly Options ( GETTEX:LO5 ) OPEC+, the coalition of the world’s leading oil producers, will convene on June 2nd to decide production policy for the second half of the year. The powerful oil cartel consists of 13 OPEC members and 9 nonmember participants, and together produces about 59% of global oil production. This...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: Lean Hog ( CME:HE1! ), Live Cattle ( CME:LE1! ) Here is the official narrative on US inflation: The Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening policy has successfully brought down inflation rate from a four-decade high to about 3 percent, delivering much needed reliefs to US consumers. Government data supports this narrative. Take food costs as an example: In...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CBOT: Micro 2-Year Yield ( CBOT_MINI:2YY1! ) and Micro 10-Year Yield ( CBOT_MINI:10Y1! ) The recent US inflation cycle started in June 2020. As the global pandemic interrupted the global supply chain, the prices of goods began to rise rapidly. In the following two years, the headline CPI shot up nearly nine percent to a 40-year high. The Federal Reserve initially...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: Micro BTC Futures ( CME:MBT1! ) Federal Reserve monetary policy is the dominant market mover across asset classes. Financial markets around the world rise and fall by any hint of the next policy move. Last Friday, US stocks jumped after a weak April jobs report boosted hopes that the Fed could start cutting interest rates soon. The Dow Jones Industrial...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: E-Mini S&P 500 Options ( CME_MINI:ES1! ) On March 24th, I published a trade idea, “Buckle Your Seatbelt for a Market Correction”, where I suggested that the US stock market was due for a major correction. Buying a Put contract on CME E-Mini S&P 500 Futures would be a trade to express this market view. How is this trade panning out? • On March 24th, the...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: E-Mini S&P 500 Options ( CME_MINI:ES1! ) Last week, investors cheered as the Fed Chair reinforced that interest rate cuts are coming despite hot inflation readings in the last two months. For the full week, the Dow was up by nearly 2% in its best week since December 2023. The S&P was higher by 2.3% and the Nasdaq jumped 2.9%. The three major US stock indexes...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: Micro BTC Futures ( CME:MBT1! ), Micro ETH Futures ( CME:MET1! ) This Monday, bitcoin jumped above $49,000 for the first time in a year, and quickly extended its gains and broke through the $50,000 level. By Wednesday, bitcoin shot up again, pushing above $52,000 in morning session. In the past few months, the benchmark cryptocurrency has experienced a...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

NYMEX: Micro Crude Oil ( NYMEX:MCL1! ) The price of a commodity is determined by its supply and demand. But in the case of crude oil, which is the lifeblood of the global economy, geopolitical risk carries a bigger impact. Examples in present time: In February 2022, the Russia-Ukraine conflict sent crude oil up 72% to $124 a barrel. In October 2023, the...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CBOT: Wheat ( CBOT:ZW1! ) In stark contrast to the rising stock market, most agricultural commodities have lost ground in 2023. In the Grain & Oilseeds market, CBOT Soybean (ZS) finished the year at $12.73 per bushel, down 14.7% year-on-year. CBOT Corn (ZC) closed at $4.63/bushel, down 30.8% YOY. CBOT Wheat (ZW) settled at $5.93/bushel, down 24.5%. In the...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: Micro BTC Futures ( CME:MBT1! ), Micro ETH Futures ( CME:MET1! ) Last Wednesday, the U.S. Security Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the listing of bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs) for the first time. This is a huge victory for the world's largest cryptocurrency and a game-changer for the broader crypto industry. Immediately after the landslide...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CBOT: Micro 2-Year Yield ( CBOT_MINI:2YY1! ), Micro 10-Year Yield ( CBOT_MINI:10Y1! ) and Micro 30-Year Yield ( CBOT_MINI:30Y1! ) The latest US jobs report showed that employers added 216,000 jobs for December while the unemployment rate held at 3.7%, reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That compared with respective market estimates of 170,000 and...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: E-Mini S&P ( CME_MINI:ES1! ), E-Mini Nasdaq ( CME_MINI:NQ1! ) Stock investors around the world had a banner year in 2023. Of the ten major stock market indexes I monitor, eight delivered solid 1-year returns. • North America: S&P 500, +23.9%; Nasdaq Composite, +53.6%; • South America: Bovespa (Brazil), +22.3%; • Europe: FTSE (UK), +3.0%; Stoxx (Germany),...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

COMEX: Micro Gold ( COMEX_MINI:MGC1! ), Copper ( COMEX:HG1! ), Aluminum ( COMEX:ALI1! ) 2023 is coming to an end. What are some of the biggest headlines of the year? • China’s ending of Zero-Covid gave hope to global economic recovery and an increase in commodities demand, but it was short-lived; • U.S. regional bank crisis triggered a flight to safety; • U.S....

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CBOT: Micro 10-Year Yield Futures ( CBOT_MINI:10Y1! ) Maritime transport is the backbone of international trade and the global economy. Over 80% of the global trade volume in goods is carried by sea, according to the UN. Therefore, whenever a major trade route is blocked, shipping time would be lengthened, which pushes up freight cost, and ultimately, the prices...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: Lean Hog ( CME:HE1! ) Throughout 2023, U.S. grocery shoppers find that beef prices rise rapidly. According to the National Daily Cattle and Beef report, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Choice Beef averaged $290 per cwt (100 pounds) on December 8th. This represents a 16% increase year-over-year and is 21% above the 5-year average. In...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

COMEX: Gold Options ( COMEX:GC1! ) Gold prices rallied to an all-time high on Friday. Spot gold climbed 1.6% to $2,069 per ounce, up 3.4% for the week. Gold price rose to $2,075 mid-session to beat the previous record of $2,072 reached in 2020. U.S. gold futures also broke new ground. The February 2024 contract of COMEX gold futures settled at a record high of...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: E-Mini S&P 500 Options ( CME_MINI:ES1! ), E-Mini Nasdaq 100 Options ( CME_MINI:NQ1! ) Initial data from the biggest U.S. shopping day sends a mixed signal. • E-commerce sales on Friday increased by 8.5% year-over-year, while in-store sales grew by just 1.1%, according to MasterCard Spendingpulse. The aggregate Black Friday retail sales rose 2.5%, excluding...