Sunday, November 24, 2024

WEEKEND WRAP: Stocks, Gold, Silver, Oil Power Ahead; Thanksgiving Week Looking Bullish; Market to Measure Black Friday, Rate Cut Projections

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Hurtling headlong into the holidays, stocks staged a hard rally that lifted all indices. The most obvious signal that rigging and inside baseball are still alive and well on Wall Street came from the Dow Jones Industrials, which managed to add 1000 points over the last three days of the week, reaching a new all-time closing high in the process.

Not as widely mentioned, the NYSE Composite Index also galloped ahead to a fresh record close, finishing at 20,123.45 on Friday. The small and mid-cap exchange is up a solid 19.59% for the year.

Precious metals rebounded with gusto, bitcoin continued to soar toward $100,000, and even oil got some bids. Investing in just about anything paid off pretty well this week and overall year-to-date.

As election excitement faded back toward the usual bickering, partisan squabbling, and in-fighting that characterizes the U.S. political system, investors seemed to sense that the status quo wouldn't be easily overwhelmed by the upstart Trump team members. Matt Gaetz, Trump's in-your-face pick for Attorney General only had to spend one day meeting with unsupportive Senators to withdraw his name from the nomination. Other nominees remained ready to testify and fight the good fight.

Quietly, late Friday, Trump's team put up Scott Bessent as the nominee for Treasury Secretary, a choice that will find friendly supporters on capitol hill.

Bessent, 62, is the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management and a former professor at Yale University. Openly gay, Bessent had connections to Soros Fund Management at various times since 1991. While those credentials are sure to be applauded by Democrats, many true Trumpsters did not warm well to the choice. As head of one of the most impactful departments in Washington, Bessent's selection appears almost an appeasement to the left. None dare criticize too harshly a member of the alternative, especially one with approval from top Wall Street managers, which Bessent has apparently won over. The nominee will sail through the advise and consent process with flying colors.

On the bright side, ceding the position of the nation's financial overseer to a person who's neither an alumnus of Goldman Sachs or the Federal Reserve is a step in the right direction. Bessent has expressed favorable views toward deregulation, deficits, government downsizing, and mass deportation of illegal aliens as preferable to the costs of increased crime and expense in allowing them safe harbor.

A number of people in Trump's camp, including billionaire Elon Musk, preferred Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick to head Treasury. Lutnick, who is co-chair of the Trump transition team, has been chosen for Commerce Secretary, a position of vital importance that will be tasked with implementing Trump's tax ad tariff agenda.

The choices for Treasury and Commerce appear to strike a reasoned balance for U.S. economic interests.

Stocks

The Shiller PE ratio remains near the third highest all-time level, reading 38.07 at the week's end. Anticipating a holiday upswing and a Santa rally, markets seem to see no impediments to bubbling up even higher. Bullish sentiment is extremely high and markets overbought, though that does not appear to matter.

Tuesday will be the most impactful day for earnings, with retail and tech stragglers reporting.

In the morning, prior to the opening bell, are Burlington (BURL), Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS), Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Kohl's (KSS), Macy's (M), Best Buy (BBY), and Analog Devices (ADI). After the close, Dell (DELL), HP Inc. (HPQ), Autodesk (ADSK), Workday (WDAY), Crowdstrike (CRWD), Nordstrom (JWN), and Urban Outfitters (URBN) release quarterly results.



Treasury Yield Curve Rates

Date 1 Mo 2 Mo 3 Mo 4 Mo 6 Mo 1 Yr
10/18/2024 4.92 4.82 4.73 4.65 4.45 4.19
10/25/2024 4.89 4.79 4.73 4.68 4.51 4.29
11/01/2024 4.75 4.74 4.61 4.53 4.42 4.28
11/08/2024 4.70 4.69 4.63 4.53 4.42 4.32
11/15/2024 4.70 4.67 4.60 4.52 4.44 4.34
11/22/2024 4.72 4.67 4.63 4.53 4.46 4.42

Date 2 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 7 Yr 10 Yr 20 Yr 30 Yr
10/18/2024 3.95 3.86 3.88 3.97 4.08 4.44 4.38
10/25/2024 4.11 4.05 4.07 4.15 4.25 4.58 4.51
11/01/2024 4.21 4.18 4.22 4.30 4.37 4.68 4.57
11/08/2024 4.26 4.18 4.20 4.25 4.30 4.58 4.47
11/15/2024 4.31 4.27 4.30 4.36 4.43 4.70 4.60
11/22/2024 4.37 4.32 4.30 4.35 4.41 4.67 4.60

Treasuries were barely moved over the course of the week and there doesn't appear to be any significant catalyst one way or the other. Flat will be the structure until the Fed decides its next policy move on December 17-18, the last FOMC meeting of 2024.

Currently, opinions are split over another 25 basis point drop in the federal funds rate or none at all at the upcoming meeting, though it's almost too obvious to point out that a cut of 0.25% on the very shortest end would accomplish normalization and upsloping across the yield curve, a likely desire of the Fed and Chairman Powell prior to President Trump's inauguration.

Spreads:

2s-10s
9/15/2023: -69
9/22/2023: -66
9/29/2023: -44
10/06/2023: -30
10/13/2023: -41
10/20/2023: -14
10/27/2023: -15
11/03/2023: -26
11/10/2023: -43
11/17/2023: -44
11/24/2023: -45
12/01/2023: -34
12/08/2023: -48
12/15/2023: -53
12/22/2023: -41
12/29/2023: -35
1/5/2024: -35
1/12/2024: -18
1/19/2024: -24
1/26/2024: -19
2/2/2024: -33
2/9: -31
2/16: -34
2/23: -41
3/1: -35
3/8: -39
3/15: -41
3/22: -37
3/28: -39
4/5: -34
4/12: -38
4/19: -35
4/26: -29
5/3: -31
5/10: -37
5/17: -39
5/24: -47
5/31: -38
6/7: -44
6/14: -47
6/21: -45
6/28: -35
7/5: -32
7/12: -27
7/19: -24
7/26: -16
8/2: -08
8/9: -11
8/16: -17
8/23: -09
8/30: 00
9/6: +06
9/13: +09
9/20: +18
9/27: +20
10/4: +5
10/11: +13
10/18: +13
10/25: +14
11/1: +16
11/8: +5
11/15: +12
11/22: +4

Full Spectrum (30-days - 30-years)
9/15/2023: -109
9/22/2023: -99
9/29/2023: -82
10/06/2023: -64
10/13/2023: -82
10/20/2023: -47
10/27/2023: -54
11/03/2023: -76
11/10/2023: -80
11/17/2023: -93
11/24/2023: -95
12/01/2023: -105
12/08/2023: -123
12/15/2023: -154
12/22/2023: -149
12/29/2023: -157
1/5/2024: -133
1/12/2024: -135
1/19/2024: -118
1/26/2024: -116
2/2/2024: -127
2/9: -117
2/16: -103
2/23: -112
3/1: -121
3/8: -125
3/15: -109
3/22: -112
3/28: -115
4/5: -93
4/12: -87
4/19: -77
4/26: -70
5/3: -85
5/10: -87
5/17: -94
5/24: -99
5/31: -83
6/7: -92
6/14: -113
6/21: -103
6/28: -96
7/5: -101
7/12: -108
7/19: -103
7/26: -104
8/2: -143
8/9: -131
8/16: -138
8/23: -141
8/30: -121
9/6: -125
9/13: -117
9/20: -80
9/27: -80
10/4: -75
10/11: -58
10/18: -54
10/25: -38
11/1: -18
11/8: -23
11/15: -10
11/22: -12



Oil/Gas

WTI crude oil prices broke its downward momentum, closing at $71.81 on Friday, up sharply from $66.88 at last week's New York close, a powerful move of more than seven percent. Oil traders have ceased fretting over the Middle East, which seems to be somewhat subdued, for now, and instead focused on escalation in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, as the U.S. green-lighted Ukraine's use of long-range missile strikes into Russia.

ATACMs and Storm Shadow missiles aiming at targets in Russia's Bryansk and Kursk regions fell short of achieving their goals according to Russian military sources and President Putin himself.

Russia's response to the attacks was to strike a military-industrial complex near Dnipro using a new intermediate-range ballistic missile called "Oreshnik", which means hazel tree in Russia, along with stern warnings to NATO countries from Putin and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Around the attacks and subsequent Russian retaliation hysterical Western media were warning about World War III and the ultimate use of nuclear weapons. Since there have been no cities incinerated and turned to ashes so far, the doomsday clock moving ever closer to midnight is not something most people are very concerned about, and with good reason. Any nuclear exchange would likely result in enormous, horrifying damage and loss of life and is not something sane people would even consider. Of course, for the time being, the U.S. and Europe are being led by individuals who may come up a bit short on the sanity test, so, the waiting-out time until January 20 of next year, at least, may remain in a somewhat precarious condition.

That increases the likelihood of a near-term rise in oil prices, though by how much remains to be seen. There's still the supply-demand issue of too much oil production and slowing demand, from both a seasonal and cyclical perspective. If nuclear options are eventually employed, the price of home heating fuel or petrol for automotive use would be among the least of people's worries. Thus, gains in WTI and Brent crude the past week are probably little more than knee-jerk responses to more military posturing by NATO and Russia.

Gasbuddy.com reports the national average for a gallon of unleaded regular gas at the pump at $3.04 a gallon, down a penny from the prior week.

California continues to be the price leader, at $4.41 a gallon, down marginally from the prior week.

Pennsylvania prices continue to head lower, at $3.24, with the Keystone State holding the high price in the Northeast, approaching the lowest level in three years. New York was slightly higher, at $3.13. Connecticut ($3.05) and Massachusetts ($3.01) were slightly higher, but Maryland slipped six cents to $3.12 per gallon. Prices in the Midwest continue to decline, with Illinois continuing lower ($3.15).

Fuel prices in Oklahoma ($2.46) continue to be by far the lowest in the nation, quite a bit lower than the #2 spot, held by Mississippi, at $2.59. Following are Texas ($2.61), Arkansas ($2.62), Louisiana ($2.64), and Nebraska ($2.68). Florida ($3.03) remains the Southern outsider, with all Southeastern states well below $3.00, including Georgia ($2.92) and North Carolina ($2.86).

Sub-$3.00 gas can now be found in at least 29 U.S. states, mostly in the Southeast and Midwest, but now spreading west, with Montana and Wyoming joining the sub-$3.00 party.

Western states are still the highest overall. Arizona ($3.20) was up five cents on the week, with Oregon at $3.55, Nevada at $3.67, and Washington at $3.95, leaving only California above $4.00. Utah ($3.04) and Idaho ($3.09) were both lower on the week, remaining well below summer prices and apparently offering gas under $3.00 in some locales.


Bitcoin

This week: $97,283.64
Last week: $90,205.13
2 weeks ago: $79,690.52
6 months ago: $67,851.91
One year ago: $37,807.90
Five years ago: $7,333.47

Bitcoin remains atop the asset leaderboard, up a stunning 120% year-to-date and more than 40% since the November 5 U.S. elections, edging ever-so-close to $100,000, topping out at $99,436 this week.

A move beyond $100,000 could spur another spurt forward. Trump's selection of Scott Bessent to lead the Treasury Department and the announcement this week that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler would retire from the position upon Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2025 are positive developments for the crypto universe.


Precious Metals

Gold:Silver Ratio: 86.13; last week: 84.65

Per COMEX continuous contracts:

Gold price 10/25: $2,754.60
Gold price 11/1: $2,745.90
Gold price 11/8: $2,691.70
Gold price 11/15: $2,567.40
Gold price 11/22: $2,743.20

Silver price 10/25: $33.88
Silver price 11/1: $32.58
Silver price 11/8: $31.42
Silver price 11/15: $30.33
Silver price 11/22: $31.85

After suffering through two weeks of election euphoria headlined by a stronger dollar, precious metals made a comeback over the past week, with gold prices up more than four percent while silver lagged, but still moved forward, posting a gain of two percent.

In dollar terms, gold was up $176, silver ahead by $1.52.

Silver remains narrowly ahead of gold year-to-date, 32.69% to 32.02%. Silver's slowness to recover moved the gold:silver ratio up to 86.13, the highest in five weeks, though still not in a "sell gold, buy silver" condition.

Here are the most recent prices for common one ounce gold and silver items sold on eBay (numismatics excluded, free shipping):

Item/Price Low High Average Median
1 oz silver coin: 30.00 45.00 39.09 38.50
1 oz silver bar: 37.00 48.68 40.82 39.60
1 oz gold coin: 2,815.20 2,929.58 2,891.55 2,903.26
1 oz gold bar: 2,817.20 2,888.95 2,837.75 2,829.21

The Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) gained ground this week, to $39.50, an improvement of $1.48 over the November 17 price of $38.02 per troy ounce.

Premia on silver and gold continue to reflect sufficient demand. Buyers seem to be unconcerned about the recent pullback. India's festival season and the November-March wedding season, in addition to Western holidays, followed by Chinese New Year bodes well for gold near term. Silver continues to be more suppressed on the Comex. Viewed more as an industrial metal than for investment purposes, the influence of large foreign buyers, especially India and China, has to factor into price calculations, though silver will ultimately align with gold. albeit at a gold:silver ratio that is, by historical standards, an extreme aberration.

WEEKEND WRAP

A truncated holiday week will be punctuated by U.S. market closure on Thursday (Thanksgiving) and a short session on Black Friday. Indications are bullish for stocks and commodities and stable for fixed income.

At the Close, Friday, November 22, 2024:
Dow: 44,296.51, +426.16 (+0.97%)
NASDAQ: 19,003.65, +31.23 (+0.16%)
S&P 500: 5,969.34, +20.63 (+0.35%)
NYSE Composite: 20,123.45, +155.15 (+0.78%)

For the Week: Dow: +851.52 (+1.96%)
NASDAQ: +323.53 (+1.73%)
S&P 500: +98.72 (+1.68%)
NYSE Composite: +477.68 (+2.43%)
Dow Transports: +139.00 (+0.81%)

Friday, November 22, 2024

Dow Posts Big Gains, Stocks Look for Positive End to Solid Week; Gold, Silver Higher; WTI Crude Stuck Near $70

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While the NASDAQ languished after less-than-spectacular forward guidance from Nvidia (NVDA) - which is now the poster child for the term "priced to perfection" - Dow Industrials took up market slack and powered ahead, ending the day just 427 points (less than one percent) from the all-time closing high of 44,293.13 (November 11, 2024), powered by gains in IBM (IBM) and Salesforce (CRM).

The day's gains on the Dow turned the week completely around for the index of 30 blue chip stocks. After Wednesday's close, the Dow was down around 35 points. Thursday's effort changed that small loss into a large gain.

That helped it catch up to the NASDAQ, which is ahead by 292 points on the week, heading into Friday. The S&P also shrugged off the losses from last week and has posted a positive number every day this week, up 78 points through Thursday's closing bell.

A pair of mid-tier retailers posted third quarter results after the close on Thursday, both companies reporting a strong quarter and superior guidance heading into the holiday shopping season.

The Gap (GAP), with a major online presence accounting for 40% of all sales, and more than 3,600 stores in 40 countries, showed net income of $274 million, translating into diluted earnings per share of 0.72. Those numbers compared favorably with year-ago figures of net income of $218 million and EPS of 0.59.

President and CEO, Richard Dickson exuded confidence, saying, "holiday is off to a strong start and we remain focused on executing with excellence in the fourth quarter. Our performance year-to-date gives us the confidence to raise our full year outlook for sales, gross margin and operating income growth."

Shares of The Gap were up nearly seven percent on Thursday and are indicated up another 17% heading into the Friday cash session. The stock, which has a very low beta, a PE ratio hovering around 10, and a 52-reek range from 18.34 to 30.59, closed Thursday at 22.04.

Shares of Ross Stores (ROST) were also being favored after the company posted net earnings of $489 million and EPS of $1.48, raising its full-year outlook to $6.10 to $6.17 per share. The stock was up more than 2.5% on Thursday and is tacking on another seven percent prior to Friday's opening bell.

Year ago returns were EPS of 1.33 on net of $447 million.

The mood wasn't quite so cheery over at Intuit (INTU), which topped estimates for the quarter, but issued lowered guidance, with some trepidation over fears of the incoming Trump administration offering a free federal government tax reporting app or simplifying the tax code to a point at which Intuit's software would be unnecessary. The company reported earning of 2.50 per share, ahead of estimates for 2.36.

Shares are down nearly three percent an hour prior to the opening bell. Intuit is a prime example of just how overpriced tech stocks have become. Yahoo Finance shows a PE ratio of 66 on this 30-year old company. Normally, such high PE ratios are reserved for startups expected to grow at exponential levels, but these days, mature companies like Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) are sporting PE ratios in the 30s and higher.

Elsewhere, gold continues to rally steadily following a post-election dive, hitting $2,712 overnight. Silver, which has lagged its more expensive cousin, seems to be perking up, continuing to trend close to $32 per ounce.

The rally in WTI crude oil was short-lived, topping out at $70.65 per barrel on Thursday, but slipping back below $70 Friday morning.

Futures are pointing to an even open, with equities close to the UNCH line.

At the Close, Thursday, November 21, 2024:
Dow: 43,870.35, +461.88 (+1.06%)
NASDAQ: 18,972.42, +6.28 (+0.03%)
S&P 500: 5,948.71, +31.60 (+0.53%)
NYSE Composite: 19,968.30, +219.17 (+1.11%)

Thursday, November 21, 2024

Stocks Appear Losing Direction after Last Week's Losses and Minor Gains This Week; Bitcoin Approaches $100,000

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Everything is coming up roses on Wall Street Thursday morning. Even companies with net income down nearly 50% (Deere & Co, DE) are trending higher.

Topping the earnings calendar was Nvidia (NVDA), releasing third quarter results after the close Wednesday. The chip-maker earned 81 cents per share, beating estimates of 75 cents. The company's forward guidance fell a bit short of sky-high expectations, however, sending shares lower by one to two percent prior to the opening bell.

Not that a percent here or there changes any of the calculus for owning shares of a company with a $3.6 trillion market cap. Nvidia stock has gained more than 200% this year.

BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ) reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of $155.7 million. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $1.18 per share, handily topping estimates and well ahead of he same period in 2023, of 98 cents. Investors are rewarding the company's performance with a stock boost of seven to eight percent in pre-market trading.

Deere & Company (DE), maker of farm and garden equipment, saw earnings fall sharply but still beat easy estimates.

For the quarter ended October 27, 2024, Deere reported net income of $1.245 billion, or $4.55 per share, topping the analyst estimate of $3.89 per share. Revenue for the quarter came in at $11.14 billion, above the consensus estimate of $9.23 billion. Both figures represent substantial year-over-year declines, with net income down 47% and worldwide net sales and revenues decreasing 28% compared to the same quarter last year. In the same quarter in 2023, Deere earned $8.32 per share. The decline to $4.55 should be a warning sign of a company losing its mojo.

Nonetheless, shares are rising by two percent in pre-market trading.

Over the past five days, gold has rallied nearly four percent, up more than $100, to $2,670. Silver continues to be suppressed, gaining lass than two percent, currently trading on the COMEX around $31.50, though it has been as high as $31.95.

For whatever reason, bitcoin is off the charts, closing in on $100,000, having surpassed $98,000 this morning. Since the U.S. election, November 5, bitcoin has gained more than 40%.

Even oil has caught a bid, despite the third straight week of inflows according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Russia-Ukraine tensions are cited as the reason WTI crude is above $70 this morning. Not to throw shade on the utterly corrupt oil futures market, but there's an enormous global glut of crude that a few missile strikes aren't going to change. Besides, with Trump's inauguration just 60 days away, market dynamics are likely to veer radically, with the price of oil almost certain to decline.

There's still more than an hour before the cash market opens, so much of what's happened overnight could easily be discounted. U.S. and European markets have been a complete joke for years. That's something that is probably not going to change any time soon. However, those with an investment horizon longer than a few months might see signs of disinflationary trends headed their way. Trump's term of office, extending through 2028, is no doubt going to be very disruptive.

With that in mind, prices for everything from toilet paper to Teslas may be radically realigned. This is by no means a reccomendation to short anything, but caution should be top of mind over the next two months. The weeks before and immediately after Trump's inauguation may be a period of heightened volatility, owing to the paradigm shifts expected in how the U.S. conducts business with the rest of the world.

Dow futures an hour prior to the open are leading the advance, up 150 points, while NASDAQ, noting the weakness in NVDA, are up the least, less than 20 points to the good. S&P futures are up around 12 points, after last week's losses still shying away from the record high of 6,001 on November 11.

At the Close, Wednesday, November 20, 2024:
Dow: 43,408.47, +139.53 (+0.32%)
NASDAQ: 18,966.14, -21.33 (-0.11%)
S&P 500: 5,917.11, +0.13 (+0.00%)
NYSE Composite: 19,749.13, +30.88 (+0.16%)

Wall Street All Business

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Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Neocons, Deep State, Davos Crowd Try to Start World War III

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Sunday, November 17, 2024

WEEKEND WRAP: Politics Trumps Economics

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Friday, November 15, 2024

Trump Supporters Must Remain Vigilant

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October PPI Fairly Hot, Nobody Seems to Care

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Thursday, November 14, 2024

Musk , Ramaswamy to Head DOGE

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Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Torrid Trump Trade; Bitcoin Goes Ballistic; Gold, Silver Slump; Oil Likely to Head Lower

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Sunday, November 10, 2024

WEEKEND WRAP: Trump Triumps Over Deep State, Wokeism, Democrats, Media Disinformation; Stock Market Roars

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Friday, November 8, 2024

Trump Trade Boosts Bitcoin; Fed Rate Drop Discouraging; Gold, Silver Rebound as Historic Week Comes to a Close

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Stocks Romp After Trump Victory

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Thursday, November 7, 2024

Donald Trump Takes Presidency

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Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Election Day Has Arrived; Investors Betting on Trump Victory

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Sunday, November 3, 2024

WEEKEND WRAP: Consequential U.S. Elections, FOMC

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Friday, November 1, 2024

October Ends on Down Note; October Payrolls +12,000

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