With the impact of the Omicron Wave on the world economy still uncertain, and economic news winding down heading into two holiday-shortened weeks, investors continue to retrench, with capital leaving risk markets and moving toward defensive havens.
Defensive havens like gold, up 0.9% and trading back above $1,800/oz, and the Japanese Yen, up 0.3%, have been attracting renewed interest. On the other hand, Bitcoin is down another 2.0% and trading below $47,500. Also, NASDAQ futures are down nearly 1.0% compared with a 0.4% retreat for Dow futures, indicating that traders’ appetite for risk has declined. Overseas, the Dax is down 1.0%, the Hang Seng fell 1.2% and the Nikkei dropped 1.8% overnight, while the FTSE is steady. Commodity action is mixed. Energy contracts remain under pressure with WTI crude oil down 1.5% and natural gas down 0.5%, while metals are bouncing back, led by a 1.3% gain for platinum and a 0.3% bounce for copper.
It’s one of the last days of the year for earnings reporting and results have been mixed. FedEx is up 5.9% premarket after the company beat the street on earnings ($4.83 vs street $4.28), and noted that it has been able to pass through rate increases to cover higher costs. US Steel, on the other hand, is down 4.5% premarket after the steelmaker issued guidance that was below expectations.
SIA Wealth Market Outlook Webinar Tuesday December 21st, 2:00 pm EDT
Please join us on Tuesday, December 21 @ 12pm MT / 2pm ET for our Market Outlook Webinar with Colin Cieszynski, Chief Market Strategist. We will be answering questions by advisors related to holiday seasonality, central banks, consumer confidence, cryptocurrencies and energy.
The link to register for the webinar: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1932267860406120205
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. A replay will be available and sent to all registrants after the webinar.
