Supreme Court Tariff Decision Looms as Bank Earnings Continue
The US Supreme Court is expected to release decisions on a number of cases around 10:00 am EST today. One of these may address the legality of President Trump’s tariff programme. Whether the court rules yes or no, or does not issue a decision at all, could have a significant impact on trading today across […]
US Markets Slip as DOJ Investigation Raises Fed Independence Concerns
Over the weekend, the US Department of Justice launched a criminal investigation into Fed Chair Powell related to renovation expenses at the Fed’s headquarters. Investors appear to be interpreting this as a move by the White House that could reduce the independence of the US central bank, weighing on confidence in the country. President Trump […]
Oil & Gas in Focus as Markets Reopen
Markets reopen this morning with investors digesting weekend US military action in Venezuela and the removal of former President Maduro, as attention begins to shift toward positioning for 2026. Political instability is lifting precious metals to start the week. Gold is climbing 2.1% and Silver is rallying 5.5%, with strength extending into broader commodities as […]
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 […]
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 […]
Pre-Holiday Data Drop
Equities have continued to climb overnight with the rally broadening. In yesterday’s US trading, the Russell 2000, with a 2.1% gain, and the Dow Industrials, with a 1.4% gain, led the market higher. This morning’s pre-holiday trading finds Dow futures steady and NASDAQ futures up 0.4%. Overseas, the DAX climbed 0.4%, the FTSE rose 0.2% […]
Mixed Pre-Thanksgiving Trading
The US holiday-shortened final week of November is off to a mixed start with traders continuing to digest the recent correction in AI-related stocks and continuing to speculate on whether the Fed will continue cutting interest rates or not next month. Building on Friday’s rebound that saw US indices gain 0.9%-1.0%, US index futures are […]
Fed Speculation Drives Big Market Reversals
It has been a roller coaster 24 hours for global markets, particularly risk and AI plays. Yesterday’s early enthusiasm around strong Nvidia earnings completely fell apart and stocks across several sectors staged big bearish reversals. A positive start turned into a rout as the NASDAQ lost 2.1% and the Dow dropped 0.9%. The catalyst for […]
Stocks Rally on Strong Nvidia Earnings
After the close last night, Nvidia reported better than expected earnings ($1.30 vs Street $1.25), sales ($57.0B vs Street $54.9B), and guidance. Nvidia is up 5.0% in premarket trading and this news has also reignited wider interest in AI related stocks. NASDAQ futures are up 1.8% this morning, while Dow futures are up 0.6%. In […]