Month: November 2018

General Market Comment

US indices closed mixed on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Shares in the Utilities (-1.48%), Food, Beverage & Tobacco (-1.17%) and Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences (-1.1%) sectors closed lower while shares in the Consumer Durables & Apparel (+1.72%), Energy (+1.58%) and Automobiles & Components (+1.43%) sectors gained momentum. On the economic data front, initial jobless claims slightly increased to 224k in week ended November 17th (estimated 215k) from 221k in the previous week. Continuing claims diminished to 1.668M in week ended November 10th (forecasted 1.65M) compared to 1.67M a week earlier. MBA mortgage applications declined by 0.1% in week ended November 16th from a fall of 3.2% in the previous week. In other news, the Bloomberg consumer comfort index increased to 61.3 in week ended November 18th vs. 60.5 a week earlier. The Leading Index improved by 0.1% in October, in-line with estimates, from an increase of 0.6% in September. Also, existing home sales advanced by 1.4% MoM to 5.22M units in October (expected 5.2M) from 5.15M a month earlier. Finally, the University of Michigan sentiment index declined to 97.5 in November (estimated 98.3) compared to 98.6 in October. The S&P 500 (2,649.93) remains below its 20d moving average (2,717.89 – flat slope) and 50d moving average (2,799.26 – negative slope). read more

Commodity Closing – Europe/Oil-Gas Majors 21.11.18

NEW YORK – Oil prices rose more than 1 percent on Wednesday, recovering from the lowest levels in months, after U.S. government data showed strong demand for gasoline and diesel, but gains were limited by concern over rising global crude supply.

NYMEX Crude Oil	54.47 USD	+1.04	+1.91%
ICE Brent Crude	63.34 USD	+0.81	+1.28%
NYMEX RBOB Gasoline	1.52 USD	+0.02	+1.41%
Dubai Crude Spot	61.68 USD	+0.21	+0.34%
ICE Gas Oil	607.00 USD	-6.00	-0.99%
NYMEX No2 Heating Oil	1.99 USD	+0.00	+0.07%
NYMEX Nat Gas	4.63 USD	+0.10	+2.23%
ICE NBP Nat Gas	67.05 GBP	+0.22	+0.33%

Today’s Economic Events

09:30 UK OCT Public Finances (PSNCR) (B GBP) exp: NA prev: 15.8
09:30 UK OCT Public Sector Net Borrowing (B GBP) exp: 5.4 prev: 3.3
13:30 US OCT P Durable Goods Ex Transportation exp: 0.5% prev: 0%
13:30 US OCT P Durable Goods Orders exp: -2.3% prev: 0.7%
13:30 US W45 Initial Jobless Claims (k) exp: 212 prev: 216
15:00 US NOV F U. of Michigan Confidence exp: 98.3 prev: 98.3
15:00 US OCT Existing Home Sales (M) exp: 5.2 prev: 5.2
15:00 US OCT Leading Indicators exp: 0.1% prev: 0.5%
15:30 US W45 Crude Oil Inventories (WoW chg) exp: NA prev: 10270 read more

General Market Comment

US indices closed lower on Tuesday, pressured by shares in the Technology Hardware & Equipment (-3.86%), Transportation (-3.32%) and Energy (-3.29%) sectors. On the economic data front, housing starts increased by 1.5% MoM to 1.228M units in October, in-line with estimates, from 1.21M in September. On the other hand, building permits declined by 0.6% MoM in October to 1.263M compared to 1.27M a month earlier. The S&P 500 (2,641.89) remains below its 20d moving average (2,718.20 – negative slope) and 50d moving average (2,804.04 – negative slope). read more

Commodity Closing – Europe/Oil-Gas Majors 20.11.18

NEW YORK – Oil prices tumbled about 7 percent on Tuesday, with U.S. crude plunging to its lowest level in more than a year, caught in a broader Wall Street selloff that was fed by rising concerns in markets about slowing global economic growth. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down $3.90, or 6.8 percent, at $53.30 per barrel by 2:01 p.m. EST (1901 GMT). The contract fell as much as 7.7 percent earlier in the session to $52.77 a barrel, the lowest since October 2017. So far in today’s US session, more than 868,000 front-month WTI contracts had changed hands, exceeding the daily average. Brent crude futures fell $4.50, or 6.7 percent, to $62.29 a barrel. The international benchmark fell as much as 7.6 percent to $61.71, the lowest level since December 2017. read more

Today’s Economic Events

06:30 FR 3Q Unemployment Change (k) (QoQ) exp: NA prev: -48
06:30 FR 3Q Unemployment Rate exp: 8.8% prev: 8.7%
07:00 GE OCT Producer Price Index (MoM) exp: 0.3% prev: 0.5%
13:30 US OCT Bulding Permits (k) exp: 1266 prev: 1270
13:30 US OCT Housing Starts (k) exp: 1233 prev: 1201

General Market Comment

US indices closed lower on Monday as tech stocks were under pressure. Shares in the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment (-4.11%), Software & Services (-3.87%) and Retailing (-3.54%) sectors were in the red zone. On the economic data front, the NAHB housing market index decreased to 60 in November (estimated 67) from 68 in October. The S&P 500 (2,690.73) breaks below its 20d moving average (2,723.14 – negative slope) and stays below 50d moving average (2,808.96 – negative slope). read more

Commodity Closing – Europe/Oil-Gas Majors 19.11.18

NEW YORK – Oil futures fell about 1 percent on Monday amid global oversupply worries, but losses were muted as investors eyed potential sanctions on Iran from the European Union, a possible production cut from OPEC and slightly bullish storage drawdown in U.S. crude stocks. Meanwhile the agency KEMP reported Hedge fund managers have exited from all the bullish positions in crude oil and fuels they accumulated in the second half of 2017 as the bull market has unwound. read more

Today’s Economic Events

15:00 US NOV NAHB Housing Market exp: 67 prev: 68

General Market Comment

US indices closed mixed on Friday. Shares in the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment (-2.15%), Retailing (-1.1%) and Media (-0.83%) sectors closed in the red while shares in the Real Estate (+1.36%), Utilities (+1.31%) and Telecommunication Services (+1.27%) sectors gained a bit of strength. On the economic data front, industrial production improved by 0.1% MoM in October (estimated 0.2%) from an increase of 0.2% in September. In other news, capacity utilization slightly increased to 78.4% in October (forecasted 78.2%) compared to 78.5% a month earlier. The S&P 500 (2,736.27) remains above its 20d moving average (2,726.40 – negative slope) but stays below 50d moving average (2,812.69 – negative slope). read more