Traders Turn Cautious as Focus Turns to Tech Earnings
Please note: The Morning Minutes will not be issued tomorrow. They should return on Monday, December 15th. The Fed meeting has come and gone, leaving mixed signals. While the FOMC did cut rates by 0.25% as expected, there were two hawkish dissenters and one dovish dissenter. The dot plot forecast for 2026 suggested that the […]
Silver Soars Ahead of Today’s Interest Rate Decisions
The big day for North American central banks has arrived. At 9:45 am EST, the Bank of Canada is expected to maintain its benchmark interest rate at 2.25%. At 2:00 pm, the Fed is expected to cut the Fed Funds rate by 0.25% to 3.75%. At that time, FOMC member projections are released, including the […]
Steady Markets Await Wednesday Decisions
Coming off of a soft Monday that saw US indices slide 0.1%-0.4%, US index futures are flat this morning. Overnight trading was mixed with the Hang Seng falling 1.3%, the Nikkei gaining 0.1%, the Dax rising 0.2% and the FTSE flat. Currencies are quiet so far today. Precious metals are on the rise with Gold […]
Steady Markets Await Wednesday’s Interest Rate Decisions
Consolidating Friday’s gains, US index futures are trading flat to up 0.3% this morning. Overseas, the FTSE is steady, the Nikkei is up 0.2%, and the DAX is up 0.3%. China sensitive markets are struggling today. Overnight, China reported a larger than expected trade surplus ($111B vs Street $100B), boosted by higher exports. Import growth, […]
Canada Jobs Crush Expectations Again
It’s not often we see a major merger announced before the weekend, but here we go. Netflix has agreed to buy key assets from Warner Bros. Discovery for $72B, or $27.75 per share, split $23.25 in cash and $4.50 in NFLX shares. The planned spinoff of the Discovery Global TV empire will proceed, meaning Netflix […]
Strong Finish to Canadian Bank Earnings Week
Upward momentum continued overseas but has slowed in North America this morning. US index futures are all pretty much flat. In Europe today, the DAX is up 1.0% and the FTSE is up 0.2%. The US Dollar is rebounding a bit today, sending Gold down 0.2%, Silver down 1.3%, and Bitcoin down 0.4%. The Euro […]
Stocks Climb on Strong Bank Earnings, Surprise ADP Payrolls Drop
Building on yesterday’s US index gains of 0.2%-0.4%, US index futures are up 0.2%-0.3% this morning. European trading is quiet with the DAX up 0.1% and the FTSE down 0.1%. US ADP payrolls declined and disappointed (-32K vs Street 5K and previous 47K) as small businesses cut jobs last month. Investors appear to be taking this […]
Bank Earnings Begin on Turnaround Tuesday for Markets
Stocks and currencies have reversed course overnight. Coming off a Monday of 0.4% to 0.9% losses for US large cap indices and a 1.3% drop for the small cap Russell 2000, US index futures are up 0.1% to 0.4% this morning. Overseas, the DAX is up 0.6%, the FTSE is up 0.3%, the Hang Seng […]
Stocks Slide to Start December
Investors return from the US holiday weekend and enter December in a cautious mood. Bitcoin, a proxy for risk appetite is down 6.0% this morning. Technology stocks are leading the way lower in morning US trading where NASDAQ futures are down 0.8%, while Dow futures are down 0.4%. Speculation on whether the Fed is going […]
No Black Friday Discounts in the Markets
The last trading day of November, a half-day in the United States, has arrived. Even through a futures outage at the CME, which has been resolved, US index futures are in the green this morning, up 0.1% to 0.3%. Overseas, the Nikkei, DAX, CAC, and FTSE are up 0.2%-0.3%, while the Hang Seng fell 0.3%, […]