It's beginning to look a lot like a global currency endgame, with stocks in Japan taking a brutal beating overnight - down 559.43, (-3.15%); along with Hong Kong, as the Hang Seng wasn't singing, losing 455.25, (-2.34%). The Shanghai Stock Exchange got an ominous boost from its own version of America's PPT, losing a mere 10 points, closing at 2739.25.
European bourses likewise were battered, with the majors down between one and 1 1/2%. The US session looks ugly early, but turned around abruptly mid-morning, coinciding with the crude supply report. In what can only be perceived as a counter-intuitive, short-covering move (otherwise known as fake, or phony), oil closed nearly 8% higher on the day, despite the crude supply growing to an all-time high.
The desperation of central banker manipulation of markets to forestall the unavoidable defaults is palpable.
Advice, for whatever it's worth, is to flee stocks or sell rallies, if one must continue to play in the global money casino.
Bank stocks were down once again, with the bank index already in a bear market. It's difficult to mask the issues facing oil production firms with unplayable debts and the banks that issued them oodles of cheap credit over the preceding six to seven years. Defaults are already happening and the pace can only increase.
Meanwhile, gold and silver investors are finally feeling good about their precious metals. Gold touched $1145 an ounce, the best price since late October.
Silver ramped to 14.80, closed in NY at 14.65, the best level in more than three months.
While not quite a breakout, the metals seem an obvious choice in a world of fraud, overvalued equities and treasuries issuing notes with negative interest rates.
Today's fiasco:
S&P 500: 1,912.53, +9.50 (0.50%)
Dow: 16,336.66, +183.12 (1.13%)
NASDAQ: 4,504.24, -12.71 (0.28%)
Crude Oil 32.10 +7.43% Gold 1,139.90 +1.13% EUR/USD 1.1082 +1.42% 10-Yr Bond 1.8810 +0.91% Corn 370.50 -0.54% Copper 2.10 +2.09% Silver 14.65 +2.56% Natural Gas 2.04 +0.64% Russell 2000 1,010.30 +0.14% VIX 21.65 -1.50% BATS 1000 20,553.93 +0.97% GBP/USD 1.4591 +1.27% USD/JPY 118.04
Showing posts with label SSE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SSE. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Global Volatility and the Rise of Precious Metals
Another day, another oddity courtesy of the purveyors of false hope, as China stocks crashed overnight, sparking a small rally in Europe and a monumental one in the United States.
Gold and silver investors, however, were not fooled, with the price of both precious metals rising in tandem - an equally odd event, given the blatant manipulation of the metals markets - to multi-month highs.
Silver gained a cool two percent, finishing the New York session at 14.495, its top tick since November 10. Gold, at 1119.70, saw its best level since November 3rd. Both price levels are notable as the twin titans have been kept solidly in a tight range for the past two months. While it's too early to call, the signal is for a breakout from these moribund levels, but, as any investor in the shiny stuff can surely attest, we've seen this play before.
Still, with world markets in turmoil, the rise of gold and silver back to a place of prominence as true currency would be in line with global concerns over instability, dull trade and the overarching risk of deflation.
In China, the SSE closed down 6.42%, the lowest close since early last year and a sure sign that all is not well in the Red Dragon's stomach. The Nikkei and Hang Seng were also lower by more than two percent.
Europe's markets were modestly higher, with gains on the majors of one percent or less.
The US equity market was another story altogether, romping right out of the gate on what can only be assumed to be false hope, in that the FOMC kicked off its first meeting of the year, and the thinking is that after the recent turmoil, the Fed may at least roll back its rate hike language. There is no chance of a rate move in either direction come tomorrow when the policy is released. Nobody is sweating bullets over this non-event. Stay tuned for further boredom and stupidity at 2:00 pm ET on Wednesday.
Bonus: for those unfamiliar with gold's traditional place as a global currency and why buying gold now might not be such a bad idea, see this article by Hugo Salinas Price, The Coming Revaluation of Gold.
Today's Closing Prices:
S&P 500: 1,903.63, +26.55 (1.41%)
Dow: 16,167.23, +282.01 (1.78%)
NASDAQ: 4,567.67, +49.18 (1.09%)
Crude Oil 31.42 +3.56% Gold 1,117.80 +1.13% EUR/USD 1.0866 +0.15% 10-Yr Bond 1.9940 -1.38% Corn 369.25 -0.14% Copper 2.04 +2.23% Silver 14.52 +1.87% Natural Gas 2.12 -1.62% Russell 2000 1,017.97 +2.07% VIX 22.50 -6.83% BATS 1000 20,270.92 +1.65% GBP/USD 1.4351 +0.75% USD/JPY 118.4055 +0.04%
Gold and silver investors, however, were not fooled, with the price of both precious metals rising in tandem - an equally odd event, given the blatant manipulation of the metals markets - to multi-month highs.
Silver gained a cool two percent, finishing the New York session at 14.495, its top tick since November 10. Gold, at 1119.70, saw its best level since November 3rd. Both price levels are notable as the twin titans have been kept solidly in a tight range for the past two months. While it's too early to call, the signal is for a breakout from these moribund levels, but, as any investor in the shiny stuff can surely attest, we've seen this play before.
Still, with world markets in turmoil, the rise of gold and silver back to a place of prominence as true currency would be in line with global concerns over instability, dull trade and the overarching risk of deflation.
In China, the SSE closed down 6.42%, the lowest close since early last year and a sure sign that all is not well in the Red Dragon's stomach. The Nikkei and Hang Seng were also lower by more than two percent.
Europe's markets were modestly higher, with gains on the majors of one percent or less.
The US equity market was another story altogether, romping right out of the gate on what can only be assumed to be false hope, in that the FOMC kicked off its first meeting of the year, and the thinking is that after the recent turmoil, the Fed may at least roll back its rate hike language. There is no chance of a rate move in either direction come tomorrow when the policy is released. Nobody is sweating bullets over this non-event. Stay tuned for further boredom and stupidity at 2:00 pm ET on Wednesday.
Bonus: for those unfamiliar with gold's traditional place as a global currency and why buying gold now might not be such a bad idea, see this article by Hugo Salinas Price, The Coming Revaluation of Gold.
Today's Closing Prices:
S&P 500: 1,903.63, +26.55 (1.41%)
Dow: 16,167.23, +282.01 (1.78%)
NASDAQ: 4,567.67, +49.18 (1.09%)
Crude Oil 31.42 +3.56% Gold 1,117.80 +1.13% EUR/USD 1.0866 +0.15% 10-Yr Bond 1.9940 -1.38% Corn 369.25 -0.14% Copper 2.04 +2.23% Silver 14.52 +1.87% Natural Gas 2.12 -1.62% Russell 2000 1,017.97 +2.07% VIX 22.50 -6.83% BATS 1000 20,270.92 +1.65% GBP/USD 1.4351 +0.75% USD/JPY 118.4055 +0.04%
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Stocks Bounce After Draghi Jawboning But Finish Poorly
For the most part, stocks were better behaved on Thursday than they have been almost any day in this new year, but that's hardly any consolation for investors and holders of 401k products, who have seen roughly 10% of their portfolios wiped out over the better part of the past three weeks.
European Central Bank Chairman, Mario Draghi, made brief headlines prior to the US market open, hinting to anybody within earshot that the ECB would review its policy in March. Market watchers, or, more specifically, alogrithms which control the direction of trading these days, took that to be a positive sign, so stocks flow higher and remained in positive territory for the entire session.
European stocks also finished green, though Asian markets had spooked the altos earlier, with the Shangai Stock Exchange down more than three percent, to 2880, its lowest level in over a year. The Nikkei shed another 2.5% and the Hang Seng was down nearly two percent.
While Draghi's comments to the press may have soothed some nerves for now, markets remain under pressure and without upside catalysts. The world is entering what appears to be a prolonged decline, prompted by years of overfunding of easy money by central banks globally.
With options expiring on Friday, both bulls and bears have been well-served this week. The closing session for the week may be on the tame side, if only due to stocks being overextended short-term to the downside and general exhaustion, though longer term, earnings of companies reporting thus far don't seem to hold much promise for a quick, lasting rebound.
If there was any disappointment on the day, it was into the close, which was unremarkably weak, the NASDAQ finishing within a hair's breath of going down the tubes.
Today's closing figures:
S&P 500: 1,868.99, +9.66 (0.52%)
Dow: 15,882.68, +115.94 (0.74%)
NASDAQ: 4,472.06, +0.37 (0.01%)
Crude Oil 29.70 +4.76% Gold 1,100.80 -0.49% EUR/USD 1.0876 -0.14% 10-Yr Bond 2.0190 +1.76% Corn 367.50 -0.34% Copper 1.99 +1.58% Silver 14.10 -0.39% Natural Gas 2.15 +1.61% Russell 2000 997.34 -0.20% VIX 26.69 -3.26% BATS 1000 19,915.85 +0.62% GBP/USD 1.4221 +0.23% USD/JPY 117.7250 +0.67%
European Central Bank Chairman, Mario Draghi, made brief headlines prior to the US market open, hinting to anybody within earshot that the ECB would review its policy in March. Market watchers, or, more specifically, alogrithms which control the direction of trading these days, took that to be a positive sign, so stocks flow higher and remained in positive territory for the entire session.
European stocks also finished green, though Asian markets had spooked the altos earlier, with the Shangai Stock Exchange down more than three percent, to 2880, its lowest level in over a year. The Nikkei shed another 2.5% and the Hang Seng was down nearly two percent.
While Draghi's comments to the press may have soothed some nerves for now, markets remain under pressure and without upside catalysts. The world is entering what appears to be a prolonged decline, prompted by years of overfunding of easy money by central banks globally.
With options expiring on Friday, both bulls and bears have been well-served this week. The closing session for the week may be on the tame side, if only due to stocks being overextended short-term to the downside and general exhaustion, though longer term, earnings of companies reporting thus far don't seem to hold much promise for a quick, lasting rebound.
If there was any disappointment on the day, it was into the close, which was unremarkably weak, the NASDAQ finishing within a hair's breath of going down the tubes.
Today's closing figures:
S&P 500: 1,868.99, +9.66 (0.52%)
Dow: 15,882.68, +115.94 (0.74%)
NASDAQ: 4,472.06, +0.37 (0.01%)
Crude Oil 29.70 +4.76% Gold 1,100.80 -0.49% EUR/USD 1.0876 -0.14% 10-Yr Bond 2.0190 +1.76% Corn 367.50 -0.34% Copper 1.99 +1.58% Silver 14.10 -0.39% Natural Gas 2.15 +1.61% Russell 2000 997.34 -0.20% VIX 26.69 -3.26% BATS 1000 19,915.85 +0.62% GBP/USD 1.4221 +0.23% USD/JPY 117.7250 +0.67%
Friday, January 15, 2016
Stocks Slammed Globally, S&P Under 1900; Dow Drops Below 16,000
Wall Street is, at last, getting the just desserts from seven years of Fed policies that have funneled trillions of dollars into the hands of the wealthiest people in the country.
The kicker is that the American public, the 65-70% that still works for a living, are going to get the worst of it.
Today's carnage in US equity markets was not an isolated event by any means. It began years ago, but, in its most current manifestation, the collapse began in China last night, when the SSE fell nearly 5% in its last session of the week.
The contagious selling fever spilled over into European markets, with the DAX, CAC-40, and FTSE-100 ending the day down by 2.54%, 2.38% and 1.93%, respectively.
Prior to markets opening in the US, however, there was a spate of poor economic data released.
Retail sales for December came in at -0.1. PPI went negative (deflation) in December, at -0.2%. Empire Manufacturing (a gauge for economic activity in the NY Fed district, collapsed from a reading of -6.2 in December, to a ghastly -19.4 in January.
Industrial Production fell 0.4%. Capacity Utilization slumped to 76.5%.
Then came the news from Wal-Mart that they would be closing 269 stores this year, with 154 of them in the United States. The full list of Wal-Mart store closings can be seen here.
By the time markets actually opened at 9:30 am ET, futures were showing the Dow down by more than 350 points and the indices all fell off a cliff at the sound of the opening bell.
By midday, the Dow was down more than 500 points, the NASDAQ had shed close to 150, and the S&P was sporting losses of more than 50 points.
While today's crashing stock indices were certainly bloody, they weren't even close to the 10 worst one-day Dow declines of all time, so all is not lost.
As the session wore on, the signs of a failing economy - both here in the US and globally - were everywhere. The 10-year note fell briefly below 2.00%. With 1/2 hour left to go, declining issues were leading advancers roughly 6:1. Intel (INTC) was down nine percent. Citigroup (C) was posting a 6% loss; Microsoft (MSFT) was clinging to a four percent downside. Bank of America (BAC), which was pushing 17 two weeks ago, sliced through 15 and was trading in the range of 14.40, down 4.0% on the day.
With more companies reporting Q4 and annual earnings next week, the action this week and today might just be an appetizer for what's about to come, and that might be a recession, collapsing corporate earnings, liquidations, bankruptcies and the wholesale destruction of pension funds - heavily invested in equities - nationwide.
For its part, the Fed trotted out William Dudley, president of the NY Fed and vice chairman of the FOMc, who noted that negative rates could be considered in light of the recent market volatility. His tongue-lapping of the markets didn't seem to carry much weight. Investors were only interested in getting out and limiting the damage prior to the long weekend.
The day's closing prices:
S&P 500: 1,880.28, -41.56 (2.16%)
Dow: 15,988.08, -390.97 (2.39%)
NASDAQ: 4,488.42, -126.59 (2.74%)
Crude Oil 29.67 -4.90% Gold 1,088.90 +1.43% EUR/USD 1.0920 +0.53% 10-Yr Bond 2.03 -3.10% Corn 362.50 +1.26% Copper 1.95 -1.57% Silver 13.90 +1.14% Natural Gas 2.10 -1.73% Russell 2000 1,005.44 -1.97% VIX 27.70 +15.66% BATS 1000 20,066.91 -1.99% GBP/USD 1.4255 -1.13% USD/JPY 117.0050 -0.97%
For the week:
S&P: -41.76 (-2.17)
Dow: -358.71 (-2.19)
NASDAQ: -155.21 (-3.34)
The kicker is that the American public, the 65-70% that still works for a living, are going to get the worst of it.
Today's carnage in US equity markets was not an isolated event by any means. It began years ago, but, in its most current manifestation, the collapse began in China last night, when the SSE fell nearly 5% in its last session of the week.
The contagious selling fever spilled over into European markets, with the DAX, CAC-40, and FTSE-100 ending the day down by 2.54%, 2.38% and 1.93%, respectively.
Prior to markets opening in the US, however, there was a spate of poor economic data released.
Retail sales for December came in at -0.1. PPI went negative (deflation) in December, at -0.2%. Empire Manufacturing (a gauge for economic activity in the NY Fed district, collapsed from a reading of -6.2 in December, to a ghastly -19.4 in January.
Industrial Production fell 0.4%. Capacity Utilization slumped to 76.5%.
Then came the news from Wal-Mart that they would be closing 269 stores this year, with 154 of them in the United States. The full list of Wal-Mart store closings can be seen here.
By the time markets actually opened at 9:30 am ET, futures were showing the Dow down by more than 350 points and the indices all fell off a cliff at the sound of the opening bell.
By midday, the Dow was down more than 500 points, the NASDAQ had shed close to 150, and the S&P was sporting losses of more than 50 points.
While today's crashing stock indices were certainly bloody, they weren't even close to the 10 worst one-day Dow declines of all time, so all is not lost.
As the session wore on, the signs of a failing economy - both here in the US and globally - were everywhere. The 10-year note fell briefly below 2.00%. With 1/2 hour left to go, declining issues were leading advancers roughly 6:1. Intel (INTC) was down nine percent. Citigroup (C) was posting a 6% loss; Microsoft (MSFT) was clinging to a four percent downside. Bank of America (BAC), which was pushing 17 two weeks ago, sliced through 15 and was trading in the range of 14.40, down 4.0% on the day.
With more companies reporting Q4 and annual earnings next week, the action this week and today might just be an appetizer for what's about to come, and that might be a recession, collapsing corporate earnings, liquidations, bankruptcies and the wholesale destruction of pension funds - heavily invested in equities - nationwide.
For its part, the Fed trotted out William Dudley, president of the NY Fed and vice chairman of the FOMc, who noted that negative rates could be considered in light of the recent market volatility. His tongue-lapping of the markets didn't seem to carry much weight. Investors were only interested in getting out and limiting the damage prior to the long weekend.
The day's closing prices:
S&P 500: 1,880.28, -41.56 (2.16%)
Dow: 15,988.08, -390.97 (2.39%)
NASDAQ: 4,488.42, -126.59 (2.74%)
Crude Oil 29.67 -4.90% Gold 1,088.90 +1.43% EUR/USD 1.0920 +0.53% 10-Yr Bond 2.03 -3.10% Corn 362.50 +1.26% Copper 1.95 -1.57% Silver 13.90 +1.14% Natural Gas 2.10 -1.73% Russell 2000 1,005.44 -1.97% VIX 27.70 +15.66% BATS 1000 20,066.91 -1.99% GBP/USD 1.4255 -1.13% USD/JPY 117.0050 -0.97%
For the week:
S&P: -41.76 (-2.17)
Dow: -358.71 (-2.19)
NASDAQ: -155.21 (-3.34)
Friday, January 8, 2016
It's Not China; Dow Dumps 1000 Points in First Week of 2016
Thursday night in the US - Friday morning in the People's Republic of China - all eyes were glued to the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), to see whether Chinese authorities' plan to suspend their rules on circuit breakers - a fifteen minute pause on a 5% loss, and closing for the day should a 7% loss occur - would hold stocks up or allow massive dumping of overpriced equities.
Disappointing many who would relish the thought of a worldwide collapse of the global stock Ponzi scheme, Chinese traders showed great restraint and state-owned companies bought equities on a wholesale basis, averting a rout in the market by posting a gain of nearly two percent.
It didn't do much good to support the overwhelming narrative of the mainstream press in Europe and the United States, as shares across the continent fell by 1.5% on average across the largest bourses, and the FTSE 100 in Great Britain shedding 0.70%.
In the US, hopes were high when the BLS announced a non-farm payroll increase of 292,000 jobs for December, above even the most aggressive estimates.
The markets didn't care.
Stocks showed modest gains across the three major averages at the open, but the narrative - and the indices - failed to produce positive results. By the end of Friday's session, the S&P joined the Dow and NASDAQ in correction territory, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average showing one of the worst weekly performances of all time, mirroring the collapse in August by shedding over 1000 points.
It was a horrific start to the new year, with the major averages shedding more than 6% on the week, the Dow posting triple-digit losses on four of the five days, the NASDAQ dropping by more than 7%.
The results for the week were downright depressing, the worst weekly start to a new year in the history of US exchanges:
S&P 500: -121.94 (-5.97)
Dow: -1079.12 (-6.19)
NASDAQ: -363.78 (-7.26)
On the day:
S&P 500: 1,922.02, -21.07 (1.08%)
Dow: 16,346.18, -167.92 (1.02%)
NASDAQ: 4,643.63, -45.79 (0.98%)
Crude Oil 33.09 -0.54% Gold 1,102.30 -0.50% EUR/USD 1.0921 -0.01% 10-Yr Bond 2.13 -1.07% Corn 356.25 +0.92% Copper 2.02 -0.25% Silver 13.94 -2.82% Natural Gas 2.49 +4.53% Russell 2000 1,048.78 -1.48% VIX 26.08 +4.36% BATS 1000 20,550.58 -1.01% GBP/USD 1.4524 -0.69% USD/JPY 117.51 -0.12%
Disappointing many who would relish the thought of a worldwide collapse of the global stock Ponzi scheme, Chinese traders showed great restraint and state-owned companies bought equities on a wholesale basis, averting a rout in the market by posting a gain of nearly two percent.
It didn't do much good to support the overwhelming narrative of the mainstream press in Europe and the United States, as shares across the continent fell by 1.5% on average across the largest bourses, and the FTSE 100 in Great Britain shedding 0.70%.
In the US, hopes were high when the BLS announced a non-farm payroll increase of 292,000 jobs for December, above even the most aggressive estimates.
The markets didn't care.
Stocks showed modest gains across the three major averages at the open, but the narrative - and the indices - failed to produce positive results. By the end of Friday's session, the S&P joined the Dow and NASDAQ in correction territory, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average showing one of the worst weekly performances of all time, mirroring the collapse in August by shedding over 1000 points.
It was a horrific start to the new year, with the major averages shedding more than 6% on the week, the Dow posting triple-digit losses on four of the five days, the NASDAQ dropping by more than 7%.
The results for the week were downright depressing, the worst weekly start to a new year in the history of US exchanges:
S&P 500: -121.94 (-5.97)
Dow: -1079.12 (-6.19)
NASDAQ: -363.78 (-7.26)
On the day:
S&P 500: 1,922.02, -21.07 (1.08%)
Dow: 16,346.18, -167.92 (1.02%)
NASDAQ: 4,643.63, -45.79 (0.98%)
Crude Oil 33.09 -0.54% Gold 1,102.30 -0.50% EUR/USD 1.0921 -0.01% 10-Yr Bond 2.13 -1.07% Corn 356.25 +0.92% Copper 2.02 -0.25% Silver 13.94 -2.82% Natural Gas 2.49 +4.53% Russell 2000 1,048.78 -1.48% VIX 26.08 +4.36% BATS 1000 20,550.58 -1.01% GBP/USD 1.4524 -0.69% USD/JPY 117.51 -0.12%
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