World Markets Bounce Back

We now appear to be moving into a new phase of market reaction to the external shock of President Trump following through on his tariff threats last week. Following Thursday’s initial negative response, Friday’s panic selloff, and Monday’s stabilization, today we have a big bounce underway with short sellers taking profits and bargain hunters stepping […]
The US Versus The World

The new trading week has started with Asia Pacific markets catching up to last Friday’s panic selloff. Hong Kong plunged 13.2%, Shanghai fell 7.3%, and Tokyo lost 7.8%. European markets, which partly participated on Friday are seeing less extreme losses with Frankfurt down 4.2% and London down 3.8%. All eyes are now on the US […]
Trump Tariffs Crush World Markets

Although President Trump has been threatening to increase tariffs for months and has been talking about yesterday’s “Liberation Day” round of new tariffs for weeks, which included a 10% baseline tariff plus reciprocal tariffs against pretty much everyone except for Canada and Mexico, some people still appear to have been caught off guard. Stocks and […]
Stocks Slide Into April

The first day of April finds U.S. equities resuming their downward course ahead of tomorrow’s “Liberation Day,” when the U.S. is planning to launch reciprocal tariffs against virtually everyone, with additional measures possible against some countries. This follows a mixed finish to March, which saw the Dow Industrials gain 1.0% while the NASDAQ fell 0.2%. […]
Shaky Start to a Big Week for World Markets

The first day of the new trading week, which is also the last trading day of the month and the quarter, finds stock markets around the world under heavy selling pressure. Overnight, the Nikkei plunged 4.0%, while the Hang Seng fell 1.3%. European trading finds the Dax and CAC both down 2.0%, with the FTSE […]
Stocks Rally on Softer Tariff Speculation

The twists and turns of tariff talks which change from day to day and sometimes even hour to hour have had markets on a roller coaster ride for weeks now. President Trump has been going around calling April 2, the day he plans to roll out reciprocal tariffs against pretty much everyone, “Liberation Day”. Meanwhile, […]
Stocks Retreat as Investors Digest Central Bank News

Yesterday afternoon’s relief rally which pushed US indices to gains of 0.9% to 1.4% has evaporated overnight. This morning finds US index futures down 0.4%-0.6%, while in Europe, the Dax is down 1.5% and the FTSE is down 0.3%. The US Dollar is rallying today, gaining 1.1% against the Australian Dollar, 0.6% against the Euro […]
Stocks and Gold Await Central Bank Decisions

Stabilizing after yesterday’s US index losses of 0.6% to 1.7%, US index futures are trading flat to up 0.3% this morning. Over in Europe, the Dax is down 0.6% and the FTSE is down 0.2%. The US 10-year treasury note yield is steady near 4.25%. Gold is up 0.1%, trading near $3,045/oz. Crude Oil is […]
Divergences Highlight Changing Leadership and Sentiment

Significant divergences and reversals have emerged in overnight trading that suggest changing capital flows and leadership across world markets. For the last several years, US has been the leading equity market in the world but that now appears to be shifting to international markets. A broadening advance in overseas markets accelerated overnight with Hong Kong […]
Disappointing Economic Numbers From the US and Canada

The new trading week has kicked off with a series of disappointing economic reports out of North America. US retail sales slowed significantly from a year ago (3.1% vs previous 3.9%) as retail sales over month disappointed (0.2% vs street 0.7%). The Empire State Manufacturing Index staged a severe and surprising drop (-20.0 vs street […]