Now, CNN Publishes FAKE NEWS; Stocks Slide Again on Tuesday; Nvidia Gashed; Markets Closed Thursday

On Monday, the Washington Post published a bogus story about Trump paring back tariffs that sent stock futures soaring in the pre-market. Wednesday morning, it's apparently CNN's turn to whip the futures in the opposite direction and send the dollar lower with a spurious screed with the screeching headline:

Trump is considering a national economic emergency declaration to allow for new tariff program, sources say

At 6:30 am, when the story was posted at CNN.com, futures plunged, with NASDAQ futures dropping 120 points in a matter of minutes.

The story begins with this:

President-elect Donald Trump is considering declaring a national economic emergency to provide legal justification for a large swath of universal tariffs on allies and adversaries, four sources familiar with the matter told CNN, as Trump seeks to reset the global balance of trade in his second term.

The declaration would allow Trump to construct a new tariff program by using the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, known as “IEEPA,” which unilaterally authorizes a president to manage imports during a national emergency.

Trump, one of the sources noted, has a fondness for the law, since it grants wide-ranging jurisdiction over how tariffs are implemented without strict requirements to prove the tariffs are needed on national security grounds.

As usual, no names are mentioned, just the usually-mysterious "sources familiar with...". This time, as if to make the fake news more credible, they specifically say FOUR sources, right in the first sentence.

Sorry to be blunt and vulgar, but what a crock of shit.

What this does is whip up anti-Trump sentiment and send the computer algorithms spinning. It's a great thing if you know which way the media is going to send stocks on any given day. Otherwise, it's rather concerning that the mainstream media complex would stoop to such depths, though, having been witness to their antics the past 15 years or so, it's hardly a surprise.

Apparently, this is what the media plans on subjecting the world to for the four years of Trump's presidency. OK, then, after "Russia, Russia, Russia", "Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine", and "Biden is Sharp as a Tack", we'll get used to "Trump is Hitler", or "Trump Hates Blacks". Alrighty. Let's get it on. Just 13 days until inauguration.

Stocks didn't perform very well at all on Tuesday, the NASDAQ taking the brunt of the selling, losing nearly two percent on the day.

The same chart pattern that Money Daily has warned about recently continues to be prominent. That is the prevalence of stocks coming out at the open higher and then trading down through the session, only to end lower. It is a pattern indicative of bear market conditions, and, even though stocks are barely off recent all-time highs, these recurring patterns may serve as early warning signs to investors paying close attention to intra-day activity.

Not to worry, only the Dow is down for the year, and only marginally at that (9 points). The other majors have been spared thus far thanks to the huge rally on Friday, January 3rd, but, they've all been skidding since early December. Longer term charts, those which begin prior to December, show the indices all suffering lower lows and lower highs, a worrying sign of sagging investor confidence.

The Dow, in particular, has lost more than 2,500 points since December 4, after hitting an all-time high that day (45,014.04). The S&P recorded its own record close on December 6 (6,090.27). Since then its off 181 points, or, about three percent.

Nvidia was the main culprit taking down the NASDAQ on Tuesday, just one session after it closed at an all-time higher of 149.43. It shed more than six percent Tuesday, closing down 9.29, at 140.14.

All markets will be closed on Thursday, January 9, in respect for President Jimmy Carter, who passed away last month at the age of 100.

At 8:00 am, equity futures were all lower, with NASDAQ futures down 95, Dow futures off 89, and S&P futures shedding 20 points.

Gold is flat at $2,665.00; silver, up marginally, at $30.67. WTI crude is testing resistance at $75/barrel, mostly on predicted persistent cold weather in the U.S. for about another week. Looking very ripe to short.

At the Close, Tuesday, January 7, 2024:
Dow: 42,528.36, -178.20 (-0.42%)
NASDAQ: 19,489.68, -375.30 (-1.89%)
S&P 500: 5,909.03, -66.35 (-1.11%)
NYSE Composite: 19,213.88, -47.54 (-0.25%)