TACO Trade Shifts to the US Dollar

Reports that President Trump has dialled down his threats related to firing Fed Chair Powell has sparked a rally in the US Dollar, suggesting that concerns about the independence of the Fed had been weighing in the currency. Gold is down 0.9%, the Aussie is down 1.0%, the Euro, Loonie and Yen are all down […]
Markets Digest Earnings and Inflation Numbers

US markets are climbing this morning as earnings season gets underway led by a 0.6% gain for NASDAQ futures. Dow futures, European indices including the DAX, CAC, and FTSE, and commodities like Crude Oil and Copper are all quiet this morning. In currency action, Bitcoin is down 2.4%, while Gold is up 0.2%. Economic data […]
Miners and Airlines in Focus Today

Investors have responded positively to the first notable earnings report of this quarter. Delta Air Lines is up 13.5% in premarket trading after beating street expectations for EPS ($2.10 vs street $2.06), and despite cutting its guidance for the year after management indicated that travel demand has stabilized. Earnings season officially gets underway next Tuesday […]
Copper Remains Active Around Tariff News

In the face of President Trump continuing to ramp up his tariff threats, including announcing a 50% tariff on copper, raising steel and aluminum tariffs, indicating that a 200% tariff on drugs could be on the way, and suggesting he may target other specific industries; equity markets have remained resilient. Overnight, the Nikkei rose 0.3%, […]
Growing Tariff Threats Rattle World Markets

World stock markets have stabilized from Friday’s declines as traders await the next developments in the ongoing tariff war between the US and everyone else. With the three-month moratorium ending on Wednesday, the White House has indicated that letters should start going out today to trade partners threatening to bring back the higher tariffs on […]
Stocks Soar on Strong US Job Numbers

Both US Nonfarm Payrolls (147K vs Street 110K) and US weekly jobless claims (233K vs Street 240K) have come in better than expected, sparking a rally in US index futures, which are now up 0.2%-0.3%, heading into tomorrow’s US Independence Day holiday. In other news, Trump’s ‘Big Bill’ continues to move toward a final vote […]
ADP Payrolls Add to a String of Disappointing Data

July is off to a choppy start so far for the stock markets. On Tuesday, US indices finished with a 0.8% loss for the NASDAQ and a 0.9% gain for the Dow. This morning finds US index futures trading between -0.2% and +0.1%, while in Europe the FTSE is down 0.1% and the DAX is […]
Stocks Rally as Trade Talks Get Back on Track

The last day of the month and quarter finds US indices taking another run at all time highs, with US index futures up 0.5%-0.7%. News that Canada has dropped the digital services tax on US companies, which was supposed to kick in today, has been greeted warmly, as it enables trade talks to resume. Overseas […]
Fear Subsides on Reports of Iran Talks

Amid reports of potential talks between European leaders and Iran, and the White House suggesting that the US may take a couple of weeks to decide whether to launch an attack against Iran, investors appear to be dialling down their defensive postures. The price of Brent Crude Oil is down 3.2% this morning while Gold […]
War Concerns Weigh on Investor Sentiment

Fears that the war in the Middle East could escalate further appear to be weighing on world markets this morning after President Trump left the G7 summit early and issued an online warning telling people to get out of Tehran. This morning finds US index futures down about 0.4% while in Europe the Dax is […]