While that news was and is still hardly being reported in the mainstream media, these potential criminal referrals may auger a turning point in the quiet coup attempt that has swallowed up most of Washington DC and harassed the Trump White House from day one of his presidency through the Mueller probe.
Interestingly, anything even remotely related to wrongdoing by the president gets front page, bleeding headlines from the usual fake news sources, but, when Democrats or Hillary loyalists are involved, crickets. It will be up to DOJ head Jeff Sessions to determine if investigations and indictments are in order. By the body language of the ongoing swamp fight, he will go after the people who went after President Trump.
On the equity markets, it was a day of churning stocks and stomachs as the Dow Industrials hugged the unchanged line all day, while the NASDAQ and S&P 500 rode higher midday but had weak closes, suggesting that tomorrow and possibly Friday - which is stock options expiration day - may not be so robust. The likely causes of the sudden sluggishness in stocks could have been the Fed's Beige Book, released today, in which a majority of participants expressed concerns over President Trump's proposed tariffs, or the fear that the above-referenced referrals resulting in indictments, earnings that were good but not good enough, or, the relentless rise in the price of oil, which has now been joined by precious metals and other hard commodities, notably copper and zinc.
WTI crude oil, which not six months ago was trading below $50, spiked today beyond $68 per barrel, the highest price in 2 1/2 years. Silver was on fire today, rising well over the $17/ounce mark to finish the day in New York at $17.20. Gold had a more-subdued gain, but copper and zinc have been quietly building momentum over the past few weeks.
A spike in commodity prices signal two things, neither of which are necessarily good for stocks, and they could indeed be bad. First, a surge in commodity prices signals inflation at the base of the economy (also, lumber is, and has been very expensive for a while) and it also notes investors seeking safety, away from riskier assets, like stocks. On the downside for everybody, high oil prices translate to higher prices at the pump, which eventually damages consumers, much like an additional tax. Higher energy costs harm all kinds of industries as well.
If oil continues to rise and pull the rest of the commodity complex along could shape trading in stocks over the coming weeks and months. While its too early to call it a trend, silver has been set to break out for months, and is currently at a 2 1/2 month high.
Dow Jones Industrial Average April Scorecard:
| Date | Close | Gain/Loss | Cum. G/L |
| 4/2/18 | 23,644.19 | -458.92 | -458.92 |
| 4/3/18 | 24,033.36 | +389.17 | -69.75 |
| 4/4/18 | 24,264.30 | +230.94 | +161.19 |
| 4/5/18 | 24,505.22 | +240.92 | +402.11 |
| 4/6/18 | 23,932.76 | -572.46 | -170.35 |
| 4/9/18 | 23,979.10 | +46.34 | -134.01 |
| 4/10/18 | 24,407.86 | +428.76 | +294.66 |
| 4/11/18 | 24,189.45 | -218.55 | +76.11 |
| 4/12/18 | 24,483.05 | +293.60 | +369.71 |
| 4/13/18 | 24,360.14 | -122.91 | +247.80 |
| 4/16/18 | 24,573.04 | +212.90 | +460.70 |
| 4/17/18 | 24,786.63 | +213.59 | +674.29 |
| 4/18/18 | 24,748.07 | -38.56 | +635.73 |
At the Close, Wednesday, April 18, 2018:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 24,748.07, -38.56 (-0.16%)
NASDAQ: 7,295.24, +14.14 (+0.19%)
S&P 500: 2,708.64, +2.25 (+0.08%)
NYSE Composite: 12,732.85, +27.09 (+0.21%)
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