Trump Tariff Tweets Sink Stocks
What was looking like a quiet Friday was turned on its head by President Trump this morning after he launched a new round of tariff threats. Specifically, Trump threatened a 25% tariff against Apple unless it brings iPhone production to the US and also a 50% potential tariff against the EU starting June 1st. This […]
US Political Woes Weigh on Wall Street
For much of this year, market movements have been driven by international political developments, particularly trade and tariff tensions between the US and other major economies. This week, however, the focus has shifted to domestic politics, as attention turns to the White House’s tax and spending bill currently moving through Congress. Concerns that the bill […]
Gold Rebounds as US Dollar Retreat Continues
Moody’s downgrade of its US credit rating last weekend continues to impact bond and currency trading. The USD remains in retreat today enabling Gold to rally 0.8% and regain $3,300/oz. Meanwhile, other major currencies, including the Loonie, Pound, Euro, Aussie and Yen, are up 0.2%-0.6% today. Commodities are also rallying with Copper up 1.2% and […]
World Markets Shrug off US Credit Rating Downgrade
Over the weekend, Moody’s cut its rating on US debt to Aa1 from AAA, and on Monday, markets showed resilience in the face of this news. US stock markets finished flat to up 0.2%, clawing back early losses. The US 10-year treasury note yield rallied up to 5.00% then settled back toward 4.45% where it […]
Stocks Backslide Amid Mixed Earnings and Economic Numbers
Thursday morning finds stock markets around the world slipping as their recent rally fades. US index futures are down 0.4% to 0.7%, while in Europe, the DAX is down 0.1% and the FTSE is up 0.2%. Overnight, the Hang Seng lost 0.8% and the Nikkei fell 1.0%. The US 10-year Treasury yield is steady near […]
Stocks Pause to Digest Inflation Data
Coming off a massive trade truce relief rally that saw US indices gain 2.8%-4.4% led by the NASDAQ, US index futures are mixed this morning trading between a 0.3% loss for Dow Futures and a 0.3% gain for NASDAQ futures. European bourses are up slightly across the board with the DAX, CAC and FTSE all […]
Equity Rally Continues With Trade In Focus
Equity markets continue to climb heading toward the weekend. Adding to yesterday’s US index gains of 0.6% to 1.0%, US index futures are up 0.2% to 0.4% this morning. In Europe, the Dax is up 0.5% and the FTSE is up 0.4%. Overnight, China reported a stronger than expected trade surplus ($96.1B vs street $89.0) […]
Gold Rallies as Investors Turn Cautious
Amid continuing uncertainty about the health of the global economy and the state of the ongoing trade wars, investor sentiment has been turning defensive once again this week. Traditional havens for capital in turbulent times continue to attract capital this morning with Gold up 1.8%, Silver up 2.2% and the Japanese Yen up 0.6%. Meanwhile, […]
US Traders Take Profits Ahead of Central Bank Meetings
The trading week kicked off overnight with overseas markets staging big catch-up rallies, including gains of 1.0% for the Nikkei, 1.1% for the FTSE and 0.7% for the Dax. Upward momentum appears to be fading, however, with US index futures down 0.6% to 0.9%, giving back some of Friday’s 1.4%-1.5% US index gains. With the […]
Stock Slide Steepens as US Q1 GDP Goes Negative
NOTE: The Morning Minutes will not be issued Thursday or Friday, they will return on Monday May 5th. Concern that the tariff war could push the US and other countries into a recession has deepened this morning after it came out that the US economy turned negative over the winter. US Q1 GDP was quite […]