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 […]
Signs of Stagflation Weigh on Stocks and the US Dollar

The SIA Wealth Morning Minutes will not be issued tomorrow. They should return on Monday September 14th. More signs of Stagflation emerged this morning. US consumer prices increased last month in line with expectations (2.9% vs street 2.9% and previous 2.7%). Perhaps more importantly, we received another troubling employment number as weekly US initial jobless […]
Traders Respond to Earnings and Inflation Numbers

US index futures are mixed this morning but have picked up in the last few minutes. NASDAQ futures are up 0.4% while Dow futures are down 0.1%. Over in Europe, the DAX is flat, and the FTSE is up 0.2%. Asia Pacific trading saw the Hang Seng gain 1.0% and the Nikkei rise 0.9%. In […]
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 […]
Commodities Retreat as Traders Digest Disappointing Job Data

US index futures have started to tumble in the wake of disappointing data out of the US but currently remain flat to slightly in the green, with NASDAQ futures up 0.2%. Overseas markets have been stronger with the DAX up 0.8%, the FTSE up 0.3%, and the Nikkei up 1.5%. China stocks struggled, however, with […]
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%, […]
Stocks Slide to Start September

September has historically been one of the weaker and more volatile months of the year for equity markets. This morning finds traders heading for the exits with NASDAQ futures down 1.2% and S&P futures down 0.9%. Over in Europe, the Dax is down 1.6% and the FTSE is down 0.6%. Late last week, a US […]
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 […]