Stocks Rebound Following a Correction
Yesterday’s pullback in North American equities from recent all-time highs, which saw the NASDAQ lose 1.0% and the S&P slide 0.6%, appears to have been short lived. Better than expected earnings from chipmaker Micron Technology ($3.03 vs Street $2.86) appears to have shored up confidence. This morning finds US index futures trading flat to up […]
Precious Metals Keep on Climbing as PMI Numbers Disappoint
There appears to be a growing disconnect between what equity and non-equity asset classes are telling us about investor sentiment. On the one hand, equity indices in the US and elsewhere continuing to reach new all-time highs seems to suggest an increased level of confidence and optimism about the future. This morning, US index futures […]
Gold Reaches Another New High
Between central bank interest rate cuts potentially devaluing paper money over time, and anti-austerity protests in France over the weekend suggesting governments may struggle to get their fiscal houses in order, capital appears to be increasingly seeking out havens in hard assets, particularly precious metals. Gold is up 1.4% this morning trading at a record […]
Semiconductor Stocks Soar on Intel Deal
Early this morning news came out that Nvidia is going to invest $5 billion into Intel, and that the two companies plan to develop semiconductors for PC and data center applications together. Coming on the heels of the US government recently taking a 10% stake, Intel shares are up 28.7% in premarket trading today, while […]
Buckle Up, it’s Central Bank Decision and Forecast Day!
Steady markets are awaiting today’s monetary policy decisions from North America’s two main central banks. Both the Fed (2:00 pm EDT decision) and the Bank of Canada (9:45 am EDT) are expected to lower their benchmark interest rates by 0.25% to 4.25% and 2.50% respectively. With employment weakening on both sides of the border investors […]
US Dollar Slides as Traders Await Tomorrow’s Interest Rate Decisions
The US Dollar continues to retreat this morning with the Fed expected to cut its Fed Funds interest rate when its meeting concludes tomorrow afternoon. The Euro, Yen, Pound, and Gold are all up 0.2% to 0.3%, with the yellow metal reaching another new all-time high. The US 10-year treasury note yield is steady just […]
Steady Markets Await This Week’s Central Bank Meetings
Equities, bonds and commodities are all relatively quiet to start the week. US index futures are up 0.1%-0.3%. In Europe, the FTSE is flat, and the DAX is up 0.5%. Crude Oil and Copper are both up 0.3%. Gold is down 0.2%. The Loonie is up 0.1%, the Euro is up 0.2%. Signs of slowing […]
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%, […]