Energy Markets Rally With Overseas Politics in Focus
After finishing flat to slightly lower on Friday, US markets are trading flat to slightly higher this morning, led by a 0.3% gain in NASDAQ futures. Investors continue to weigh the implications of last week’s disappointing U.S. employment numbers, balancing the potential for interest rate cuts against the risks a slowing economy poses to corporate […]
Dismal Employment Numbers Increase Rate Cut Pressures
Employment numbers from both sides of the border were rough this morning, increasing pressure on both the Fed and the Bank of Canada to resume cutting interest rates. While the US managed to eke out less than expected job growth (22K vs Street 75K), Canada saw steep and accelerating job losses for a second month […]
New High for Gold, Oil Drops Back
Alphabet is up 5.8% premarket after learning that in an antitrust case, it will not be forced to divest either its Android operating system or its Google Chrome browser. Meanwhile, retailer Macy’s is up 12.4% premarket after crushing Street estimates on EPS ($0.41 vs Street $0.19). This news has helped NASDAQ futures to climb 0.7%, […]
World Markets Await Summit News
After today, SIA Wealth Morning Minutes will be on summer vacation for the next two weeks, returning Tuesday, September 2nd. With a 2-point gain, the S&P 500 managed to eke out another all-time high yesterday, but investors have had difficulty keeping the party going overnight. US index futures are split between a 0.5% gain for […]
Rising Inflation Sinks Stocks, Sparks US Dollar Rally
US index futures have turned sharply downward after US producer prices jumped in July (3.3% vs Street 2.5% and previous 2.3%), contradicting Tuesday’s consumer price report and suggesting that tariffs may be starting to drive up inflation. US core PPI (excluding food and energy) was even worse (3.7% vs Street 2.9 and previous 2.6%). US […]
Stock Markets Continue to Climb
Yesterday was a banner day for US equity markets with the small cap Russell 2000 rallying 3.0% and the large cap indices gaining 1.1%-1.4%, sending the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite to new all-time highs. This morning finds the three main index futures contracts up another 0.2%-0.3%. Positive momentum has continued overnight with the […]
Trade and Inflation News Boost Stocks
US index futures are climbing again today with gains of around 0.4% for the three main contracts. Overnight, President Trump announced another 90-day delay to the imposition of tariffs on China to allow talks to continue. This was particularly well received in Japan, where the Nikkei rallied 2.1%, while the Hang Seng gained 0.3%. This […]
Steady Markets Await Interest Rate Decisions and Big Tech Earnings
Coming off yesterday’s moderate pullback, which saw US indices decline 0.3%-0.5%, US index futures are trading flat to up 0.2%. Overseas, the Hang Seng lost 1.3%, the Nikkei was quiet, the FTSE has lost 0.3% and the Dax is up 0.1%. Commodities have erased earlier losses with Crude Oil now flat and Copper now down […]
Negative Reactions to Positive Earnings Continue
Earnings reports have continued to trigger selloffs in large cap stocks overnight and into this morning as investors focus more on future outlooks than past results. These moves provide more evidence to suggest that the big market rally of the last three months likely has already priced in high expectations. Chipotle Mexican Grill is down […]
US Stocks Pause as Traders Digest Earnings and Await Powell Speech
With a 0.14% gain yesterday, the S&P 500 managed to eke out another record high close Monday, but Tuesday finds US index futures hitting pause and trading flat to down 0.1%. Traders appear to be waiting to see if there will be any hints in Fed Chair Powell’s speech this morning as to whether the […]