President Trump to Address WEF Crowd at Davos; American Airlines Projects First Quarter Loss; Beware Stock Hucksters

Stocks kept the momentum going on Wednesday, the S&P posting a third straight day on the uptick.

However, the S&P fell just short of making a new record close. While it traded above 6,090 much of the day, the last half hour of the session saw serious selling. Thursday morning's stock futures aren't holding out much hope for a rebound. The post-inauguration high seems to be fading, which would make sense. Not a lot of what President Trump has done in his first three days in office have been particularly stock market favorable. If anything, Trump's first few days might be best characterized as "stock market neutral."

Markets are still unaware of what Trump's trade and economic policies will encompass. He's been fairly tight-lipped this first week of his presidency about China, Canada, tariffs, and a host of other issues. Perhaps today's speech to the assembled liberal hangovers at the WEF in Davos will provide some clues.

According to Axios and other sources, President Trump will address the World Economic Forum via a virtual broadcast today, Thursday, January 23rd, at 5:00 pm Davos time.

Since Davos, Switzerland is six hours ahead of the U.S. in terms of time zones, Trump's address should begin at 11:00 am ET. That's likely to cause markets to slow roll the morning and react to anything the President might say that has impact, but it's more likely that Trump's speech will be mostly rhetorical and devoid of actionable detail. It would be nice if he chided the globe-trotting snobs at WEF over some of their policies concerning Ukraine, the climate change scam, high taxes, and disregard for the rule of law, especially concerning elections. Should be interesting.

Outside of President Trump making headlines, a few companies have reported earnings this morning. Maybe the most notable was American Airlines (AAL), which, reported adjusted earnings per share of 86 cents, excluding nonrecurring items, up from 29 cents a share from a year ago. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were looking for earnings of 66 cents a share.

Revenue grew to $13.7 billion from $13.06 billion in the same period last year, but the stock is getting slaughtered in pre-market trading, down more than five percent after the company projected a first quarter loss of 20 to 40 cents per share.

A half hour before the open, stock futures are trending lower, with NASDAQ futures holding below -100 points, though Dow futures are sporting a modest gain. Gold and silver are down (big surprise!), oil continues to slowly leak lower, and bitcoin has also lost momentum, trading between $101,000 and $102,500.

At the Close, Wednesday, January 22, 2024:
Dow: 44,156.73, +130.92 (+0.30%)
NASDAQ: 20,009.34, +252.56 (+1.28%)
S&P 500: 6,086.37, +37.13 (+0.61%)
NYSE Composite: 19,827.62, -65.97 (-0.33%)

Today's note to the wise: Beware of bubble-era stock touters, because, in bubbles, practically anybody can find stocks that are going to go up, even crackpots like Nick Giambruno.

Here are some specific stock recommendations made by Nick Giambruno over the past few years:

One of his top picks in the Bitcoin mining sector is Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (HIVE). He has highlighted this stock for its potential to outperform Bitcoin itself. Well, it hasn't. In 2021, HIVE hit a high over $26 per share. It's currently trading under $4.00.

Uranium Stocks: Giambruno recommended Ur-Energy Inc. (URG) as a potential investment in the uranium sector, anticipating a new bull market. URG is a penny stock. It peaked at $2.00 in February, 2024 and is currently trading at $1.23.

Marijuana Stocks: In 2018, Giambruno suggested investing in Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC), which he referred to as the "Amazon of Pot." It's not. Giambruno must have been smoking some good stuff. CGC rocketed to $429 in February, 2021. Today it's trading for $2.23.

Defense Supplier Stocks: In 2019, he recommended Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. (KTOS), predicting significant growth due to trade war tensions. In 2019, KTOS traded between $14 and $22 per share. In 2020, it fell to as low as $10, and today is above $34. Giambruno actually did OK with this one, but what stocks haven't doubled since 2020?

Nick expects people to shell out a lot of money for monthly picks. He probably gets a few suckers a month to pony up, whch pays the bills and keeps his name out there. Overall, however, he's got no more insight on stocks than the average sixth-grader. Essentially, he's a fraud, and there are many others out there, just itching to get at your money. Don't do it. Educated yourself and make your own choices.

Here's a bit of Giambruno's pitch:

Financial Underground: SPECULATOR

$2,499.00 / year

Financial Underground: SPECULATOR is our premium investment research publication.

At Financial Underground: SPECULATOR, we find lucrative investment opportunities in overlooked and misunderstood markets. We specialize in uncovering unstoppable trends ahead of the crowd and getting positioned for outsized profits.

Every month, renowned speculator and international investor Nick Giambruno will send you a new issue delivered to your email inbox.

It’s a perspective you won’t find anywhere else - certainly not in the mainstream financial media nor any other financial newsletter or research publication.

In short, we are more interested in getting the Big Picture right than gambling with short-term trades in rigged markets.

What a crock.

Stocks Boom on Trump Inauguration, 3M, Charles Schwab Earnings; Netflix Earnings Blow Away Estimates; UAL, COF In Play

With markets closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, stock pickers were able to get an in-depth look at the inauguration and first day of Donald Trump's presidency, which included signing of fifty executive orders, various firings and the beginning of mass arrests and eventual deportations of illegal aliens in the U.S.

Having a full day to digest the proceedings in the nation's capital provided Wall Street with a solid understanding of what Trump dubbed, "America's Golden Age", and took little time to capitalize on the good vibes coming out of Washington, D.C.

Helping fuel the rally were earnings reports from a number of important companies, key among them 3M (MMM), which posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.68, beating estimates. The company also announced that it's restructuring plan was nearly complete. Shares were up more than four percent on the day, hitting its highest level in three years.

Capital One (COF) showed profits rising by 55% in the fourth quarter from a year ago. Their interest income growing as more consumers use credit cards issued by the company at nose-bleed interest rates, some as high as 30% or more.

Stock brokerage Charles Schwab (SCHW) posted better-than-expected results on higher asset management fees and a surge in trading volume. The company's stock was up sharply from Friday's close.

Adding to the excitement Wednesday morning were spectacular earnings reports from Netflix (NFLX), which announced Tuesday morning EPS of $4.27 for the fourth quarter, above consensus expectations of $4.18 and more than double the $2.11 EPS figure it reported in the year-ago period. Shares of the streaming service are up 14% in pre-market trading.

United Airlines (UAL) and CapitalOne (COF) also posted strong fourth quarter and full year results prior to the open, sending stock futures skyward. Dow futures are trending up about 160 points, NASDAQ futures sporting a gain of more than 200 points. S&P futures are ahead by 32 points. The S&P is at its highest level in a month, closing in on its all-time record close of 6,090.27 from December 6, 2024.

Bitcoin hit above $108,000 on Tuesday before pulling back to above $104,000. Gold is approaching its own record level, hovering around $2,770. Silver continues a laggard, though it is trending above $31/ounce. WTI crude oil ($75.69) got smacked down on Trump's enthusiastic massaging to "Drill, baby, drill."

Golden Age, indeed.

At the Close, Tuesday, January 21, 2025:
Dow: 44,025.81, +537.98 (+1.24%)
NASDAQ: 19,756.78, +126.58 (+0.64%)
S&P 500: 6,049.24, +52.58 (+0.88%)
NYSE Composite: 19,893.59, +286.22 (+1.46%)

WEEKEND WRAP: Bank Earnings, CPI Tea Leaves Lead Stock Rally; Oil Continues to Climb as Trump Inauguration Approaches

Stocks jumped the gun on the inauguration with a big week highlighted by CPI from December and bank earnings from the likes of Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup.

Big banks appear to be on solid footing with deposits growing and increased M&A activity. Wall Street cheered itself for undercutting inflation forecasts, spurring a wild Wednesday romp with more carryover effects Friday.

Stocks

Stocks turned in their best week since November, putting January solidly back in positive territory after some early new year jitters. The Dow and NYSE Composite out-performed the S&P and NASDAQ, though all the majors were markedly higher with Wednesday's big rally taking a day off Thursday before returning with gusto on Friday.

After two straight years of gains and a new sheriff in town (Trump), Wall Street is desperate to keep the punch bowl filled at all costs. There are uncertainties aplenty, which brings into question the wisdom of big gains just prior to expectations for big changes. Normally, as was demonstrable earlier in January, the stock market hates uncertainty. This week's rally may have been something on the order of a bull trap or a condition of "buy the rumor, sell the news." The coming week will provide more clues to the general direction of stocks, both near and long term.

Earnings will be highlighted in the coming week. After the nation's largest banks turned in solid fourth quarters, traders are expected good things through first quarter earnings season, with the bulk of publicly-owned companies reporting over the next three weeks. With Monday a national holiday (Martin Luther King Day), markets will be shuttered Monday. The big names to watch for earnings releases this week are the following:

Tuesday: CapitalOne (COF), 3M (MMM), Zions Bancorporation (ZION), DR Horton (DHI), Charles Schwab (SCHW), Interactive Brokers (IBKR), Netflix (NFLX), United Airlines (UAL)

Wednesday: Discover (DFS), Alcoa (AA), Kinder Morgan (KMI), Abbot Labs (ABT), Halliburton (HAL), Ally Bank (ALLY), Proctor & Gamble (PG), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Travelers (TRV), Comerica (CMA)

Thursday: American Airlines (AAL), CSX (CXS), McCormick (MKC), Union Pacific (UNP), Covenant Health (CVLG), Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)

Friday: Ericsson (ERIC), Verizon (VZ), American Express (AXP)

The data calendar is light. Trump's Executive Orders and proclamations from the Oval Office will be the huge focus for the week and probably for many more weeks ahead.

Treasury Yield Curve Rates

Date	1 Mo	2 Mo	3 Mo	4 Mo	6 Mo	1 Yr
12/13/2024	4.43	4.43	4.34	4.36	4.32	4.24
12/20/2024	4.43	4.42	4.34	4.35	4.29	4.27
12/27/2024	4.44	4.43	4.31	4.35	4.29	4.20
01/03/2025	4.44	4.35	4.34	4.31	4.25	4.18
01/10/2025	4.42	4.35	4.36	4.33	4.27	4.25
01/17/2025	4.43	4.35	4.34	4.32	4.28	4.21

Date	2 Yr	3 Yr	5 Yr	7 Yr	10 Yr	20 Yr	30 Yr
12/13/2024	4.25	4.21	4.25	4.33	4.40	4.69	4.61
12/20/2024	4.30	4.32	4.37	4.45	4.52	4.79	4.72
12/27/2024	4.31	4.36	4.45	4.53	4.62	4.89	4.82
01/03/2025	4.28	4.32	4.41	4.51	4.60	4.88	4.82
01/10/2025	4.40	4.46	4.59	4.70	4.77	5.04	4.96
01/17/2025	4.27	4.33	4.42	4.52	4.61	4.91	4.84

After rising by roughly one percent from when the Fed began lowering the federal funds target rate in September, 2024, longer maturities (2 years out to 30 years) began to backtrack after December CPI showed the core falling short of expectations, even though headline year-over-year CPI has risen the last three months, from 2.4% in September, to 2.6% in October, 2.7% in November, and the latest, 2.9% for December.

Wall Street sorely needs January to come in positive, bolstering the concept that January presages the market for the rest of the year. Thus, analysts and stock-pumpers cherry-picked the CPI number, finding one that they liked, ignoring the undeniable fact - provided by their very own number-fudgers at the BLS - that inflation continues to rise overall. Prices are not coming down; they're only rising at a slower pace than recently.

It needs to be pointed out that the Fed's ill-advised 100 basis points worth of cuts in September, November, and December, had the expected effect of causing price increases on most goods and services. The Fed, trapped as it is, continues to try to walk the tightrope between keeping the economy chugging along and keeping prices under control. They're actually failing at both.

With Trump readying tariffs on almost anything that is imported into the U.S., the Fed and their Wall Street banking cohorts continue to pedal the lie that inflation is under control and the economy is strong. The next three to six months will provide evidence as to whether they are right or lying through clenched teeth.

Spreads contracted, with 2s-10s dropping three basis points, and full spectrum (30 days out to 30 years) flattening by 13 basis points, from +54 to +41 over the course of the week.

As with stocks, there was some racing to get ahead of the pack prior to the completion of presidential transition on Monday. Whether they were prescient or just plucky will begin to become clear within the first 10 days of Trump's administration.

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
11/29: +5
12/6: +5
12/13: +15
12/20: +22
12/27: +31
1/3: +32
1/10: +37
1.17: +34

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
11/29: -40
12/6: -23
12/13: +18
12/20: +29
12/27: +38
1/3: +38
1/10: +54
1/17: +41

Oil/Gas

WTI crude oil continued to ride higher, finishing out the week at $77.37, up from $75.70 the prior Friday, the fourth straight week of rising price action. Wednesday's CPI reading from December produced most of the rally, hitting a high of $79.14 before backing off Thursday and Friday.

This week's jump in oil futures sent oil prices closer to summer levels that peaked above $82/barrel. How well this pric action continues to hold after Monday's inauguration of Donald J. Trump and his "drill, baby, drill" mantra is largely dependent on press attitudes and what comes off the president's desk his first week back in the Oval Office. With a heavy agenda, oil may be left to its own accord, though Trump is very likely to issue Executive Orders to reverse much of what the Biden White House destroyed of oil and capital markets the past four years.

Gasbuddy.com is reporting the national average for a gallon of unleaded regular gas at the pump up seven cents from last week, checking in at $3.12 a gallon Sunday morning.

California continues to be the national price leader, at $4.41 a gallon.

Pennsylvania prices jumped eight cents, at $3.34, with the Keystone State the price leader in the Northeast. New York saw a slightly smaller change, at $3.14. Connecticut ($3.07) was up slightly while Massachusetts ($3.01) was higher by just three cents, returning back above the $3.00 threshold. Maryland prices jacked higher by 22 cents, at $3.32.

Illinois advanced only two cents, to $3.24. Ohio (#3.11) and Indiana ($3.10) again returned back above $3.00 after just one week below.

Mississippi took over as low price leader, snatching the crown from Oklahoma with a price of $2.65, while the Sooner State came in at $2.67. Following are Texas ($2.69), Arkansas ($2.70), and Louisiana ($2.71). Those are followed by Alabama ($2.77), Tennessee ($2.78), Kansas ($2.80), and South Carolina ($2.81). Florida's was up seven cents, at $3.18, Georgia crept closer to $3, showing $2.95 this weekend.

Sub-$3.00 gas can now be found in only 28 U.S. states. The Northeast and West coast remain largely over-$3.00 holdouts.

Arizona ($3.11) was up eight cents from a week ago. Oregon showed prices higher, at $3.49, Nevada at $3.62, and Washington at $3.90, leaving only California above $4.00. Utah ($2.97) and Idaho ($3.01) were both lower for the week.

Bitcoin

This week: $105,074.80
Last week: $94,640.44
2 weeks ago: $97,453.01
6 months ago: $66,693.20
One year ago: $41,705.26
Five years ago: $9,895.13

Bitcoin moved higher again this week, promoted by some reporting that the incoming Trump administration plans on removing many of the regulations surrounding crypto ownership. With changes afoot at the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the idea is that with an administration's full embrace of crypto's potential, the United States will become the de facto leader of crypto adoption. In many ways, it already is, though that doesn't prevent the usual suspects from pushing their agenda to extremes, including the concept of the U.S. establishing a "bitcoin reserve". While the idea of the U.S. government becoming huge hodlers of vaporware currency appeals to the baser instincts of the crypto future crowd, it remains to be seen what the U.S. government plans on doing with its money in the face of exploding national debt and a debased currency. Establishing a new currency standard isn't something the world would take lightly. Basing one on currency that is ethereal, but also highly traceable, as bitcoin and most other cryptos are, seems to be quite the canard, an unworkable direction that leads, ultimately to anathema of the crypto universe, CBDCs. Crypto adherents had better not hope to hard, because they might get exactly what they want, with unexpected attachments and unwieldy consequences.

Precious Metals

Gold:Silver Ratio: 88.24; last week: 86.82

Per COMEX continuous contracts:

Gold price 12/20: $2,640.50
Gold price 12/27: $2,636.50
Gold price 1/5: $2,652.70
Gold price 1/12: $2,717.40
Gold price 1/19: $2,740.00

Silver price 12/20: $30.08
Silver price 12/27: $29.98
Silver price 1/5: $30.10
Silver price 1/12: $31.30
Silver price 1/19: $31.05

Gold continued it's upside momentum, while silver made impressive gains Wednesday, only to give the bulk of them back, and then some, Thursday and Friday.

Judging by activity on eBay, a silver mania is developing, with small fry (average Joes and Janes) evidencing a propensity to throw caution to the wind as they continue stacking and saving for the future and against the corrupt fiat regime they clearly see faltering on multiple fronts, not the least of which are inflation (money creation, currency debasement) and the threat from BRICS in the formation of a global financial duopoly with the U.S. dollar - and by extension, the euro, yen, and pound - taking a beating.

Even though stocks had a very good week and are tracking towards a positive bent to the important month of January, precious metals have not backed down much from autumn 2024's highs. Gold is clearly fetching over $2,800 on one-ounce pieces and much higher on a per-ounce basis on fractional coins and bars. Silver, at least near term, has avoided further price deterioration and shortages continue to mount. COMEX prices are one thing. Buying coins and bars at $10 or more over spot indicates a large and growing cohort seeking relief and better accounting for what determines wealth and value.

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:	34.99	49.99	43.24	42.44
1 oz silver bar:	36.96	47.95	41.37	40.58
1 oz gold coin:	2,818.10	2,912.22	2,863.58	2,869.90
1 oz gold bar:	2,812.38	2,888.37	2,835.72	2,824.61

The Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) rose moderately, to $41.91, an increase of 64 cents from the January 12 price of $41.27 per troy ounce.

WEEKEND WRAP

One more day. Will the nightmare of the last four years vanish in an instant or will there be continued pushback from the open borders, DEI non-conformists as there was in Trump's first term?

Hope against hope that the former is the case, but, knowing the depth of depravity that dwells within the deep state, the latter seems more likely.

At the Close, Friday, January 10, 2025:
Dow: 43,487.83, +334.70 (+0.78%)

NASDAQ: 19,630.20, +291.91 (+1.51%)
S&P 500: 5,996.66, +59.32 (+1.00%)
NYSE Composite: 19,607.37, +58.74 (+0.30%)

For the Week:
Dow: +1549.38 (+3.69%)
NASDAQ: +468.57 (+2.45%)
S&P 500: +169.62 (+2.91%)
NYSE Composite: +644.36 (+3.40%)
Dow Transports: +507.84 (+3.19%)

Trump Inauguration Looming, Stocks Ready to Close Out Week of Big Gains; Bitcoin Moves Past $100,000 Again; Gold, Silver Lower

Stocks took a step back on Thursday, failing to extend the "inflation is defeated" rally from Wednesday on the back of sketchy CPI data which showed Y-O-Y CPI increasing from 2.7% in October, to 2.8% in November, to 2.9% in December. All Wall Street seemed to care about was core CPI, which fell slightly.

With futures soaring pre-market, the Street appears ready to resume "buy everything" mode. The morning's upside can be traced to animal spirits, an announcement by the IMF, which said it raised its growth forecast for the United States to 2.7% for 2025, and a few more earnings beats.

Stocks appear set for a banner week, with the Dow up 1214 points through Thursday's closing bell. NASDAQ is up 176, S&P 500 ahead by 110 on the week.

Bitcoin has rallied all week and is once again above $100,000, nearly hitting $103,000 early Friday. Of course, gold and silver are lower.

This market has a unique tendency to celebrate itself, no matter the economic data or real world conditions. However, Thursday saw the return of that nasty bear market chart pattern of being up early and down late. Sometimes - and on Wall Street - it's nearly all the time, the obvious signal gets lost in the noise, and this is a very noise market.

Happy Weekend! If the world survives the weekend, Donald J. Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th President of the United states on Monday. Fingers crossed.

At the Close, Thursday, Janaury 16, 2025:
Dow: 43,153.13, -68.42 (-0.16%)
NASDAQ: 19,338.29, -172.95 (-0.89%)
S&P 500: 5,937.34, -12.57 (-0.21%)
NYSE Composite: 19,548.63, +125.92 (+0.65%)

Stocks Rallied Hard Wednesday on Bank Earnings and Mild CPI; Thursday Setting Up a Bit More Calm; Gold, Silver, Oil Also Big Winners

Earnings for the biggest U.S. banks continue to roll out with positive results for the fourth quarter of 2024. Thursday morning saw reports from Bank of America (BAC), Morgan Stanley (MS), PNC (PNC), and US Bankcor (USB), all of which featured earnings beats and generally glowing quarterly results.

Despite the positive news in the financial sector, banks which reported this morning haven't quite caught fire with traders. Bank of America is flat pre-market, US Bancor actually missed EPS estimates and is down 2.5%, and PNC, despite a huge beat, is down around three percent, roughly the same as it was up during yesterday's rally. Morgan Stanley is up more than two percent prior to the open.

Taiwan Semi (TSM) is getting good vibes after another knockout quarter, setting new records with a 57% profit surge to $11.4 billion and a 39% revenue hike to $26.88 billion. Shares are boosted more than five percent an hour prior to the opening bell. United Health (UNH) beat on the earnings side, but revenues took a hit. The stock is being punished to the tune of a four percent decline.

Retail sales for December were modest, up 0.4%, and up 3.9 percent from December 2023. Total sales 2024 were up 3.0 percent from 2023 according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which supplied the report.

There might be some hangover from Wednesday's surge in stock prices. Futures have been trending down most of the morning, with Dow futures in the red by more than 100 points. S&P and NASDAQ futures are clinging to small gains after the retail sales report didn't move the needle much.

The big winners Wednesday outside of stocks were crude oil, gold, and silver. WTI crude hit a high of $79.15 just as the stock market closed and has dipped back down to $78.40. Gold advanced through the day Wednesday, starting from a low of $2,673.80 to close out in New York at $2,722.20 and is moving higher Thursday morning, at $2,742.50. That's a $69 move in just more than a day on the COMEX. Silver's move was even more pronounced, starting from a low of $30.20 at 12:30 am ET Wednesday, this morning topping out at $31.98.

Bond traders got some relief from the dovish inflation figures, sending note yields lower. The benchmark 10-year yield dropped from 4.78% to 4.66%, and the drops on shorter maturities (2-year out to 7-year) were in the same ballpark, the 7-year falling by 15 basis points.

It remains to be seen if Wednesday's big move in stocks will carry over to the rest of the week. From the looks of the futures, the rally appears to have lost some of its mojo. There's still some apprehension concerning the regime change in Washington to take place on Monday. Biden out, Trump in, seems like a no-brainer, but those with less itchy trading fingers may still be taking a wait-and-see approach.

Thursday, Friday and most of Monday remain under the inauguration cloud. With CPI out of the way and the upcoming FOMC meeting likely to produce a pause in the rate cutting rigamarole, things could calm down a bit.

Thursday's rally did manage to put the majors back on a positive footing for January, but they remain below levels from early December. There's still time to get stocks moving forward and put a positive spin on January, which would be important as many a trader believes that the first month foreshadows the rest of the year.

At the Close, Wednesday, January 15, 2025:
Dow: 43,221.55, +703.27 (+1.65%)
NASDAQ: 19,511.23, +466.84, (+2.45%)
S&P 500: 5,949.91, +107.00, (+1.83%)
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