Author: Specialist

General Market Comment

US indices closed lower on Thursday as President Trump is reportedly planning on imposing an additional $200B worth of tariffs on Chinese imports by next week. Shares in the Automobiles & Components (-2.17%), Consumer Durables & Apparel (-2.06%) and Materials (-1.25%) sectors fell during the day. On the economic data front, personal income increased by 0.3% in July, below the estimate of +0.4%, compared to +0.4% a month ago while personal spending increased by 0.4% in July, meeting the expectation, from +0.4% in June. In addition, initial jobless claims increased to 213K in the week ending August 25 (estimated 212k) from 210K previously while continuing claims decreased to 1.708M in the week ending August 18 (anticipated 1.725M) from a revised 1.728M last week. Finally, the Bloomberg consumer comfort index decreased to 58.3 in the week ending August 26 vs. 58.6 in the prior week. The S&P 500 (2,901.13) remains above its 20d moving average (2,859.39 – positive slope) and 50d moving average (2,811.48 – positive slope). read more

Brent Crude Technical Snap

Pivot: 76.80. Long positions above 76.80 with targets at 77.50 & 78.05 in extension. Below 76.80 look for further downside with 76.15 & 75.75 as targets. RSI is mixed to bullish.

Today’s Economic Events

07:00 GE JUL Import Prices (MoM) exp: 0% prev: 0.5%
08:55 GE AUG Unemployment Change (k) exp: -7.9 prev: -6
08:55 GE AUG Unemployment Rate exp: 5.2% prev: 5.2%
09:30 UK JUL M4 Money Supply (MoM) exp: NA prev: -0.3%
10:00 EC AUG Business Climate Indicator exp: 1.26 prev: 1.29
10:00 EC AUG Euro-Zone: Economic Confidence exp: 112 prev: 112.1
10:00 EC AUG Euro-zone: Industrial Confidence exp: 5.8 prev: 5.8
10:00 EC AUG F Euro-Zone: Consumer Confidence exp: -1.7 prev: -1.9
13:00 GE AUG P Consumer Price Index (MoM) exp: 0.1% prev: 0.3%
13:00 GE AUG P CPI – EU Harmonised (MoM) exp: 0.2% prev: 0.4%
13:30 US JUL Personal Income exp: 0.3% prev: 0.4%
13:30 US JUL Personal Spending exp: 0.4% prev: 0.4%
13:30 US W33 Initial Jobless Claims (k) exp: 213 prev: 210 read more

General Market Comment

US indices closed higher on Wednesday as the S&P500 and Nasdaq both reached a new record high. Shares in the Retailing (+1.61%), Technology Hardware & Equipment (+1.22%) and Software & Services (+1.13%) ended on a positive note. On the economic data front, MBA mortgage applications decreased 1.7% in the week ending on August 24th compared to +4.2% in the week prior. In addition, 2Q GDP increased by 4.2% in a second estimate (expected 4%) from 4.1% in the prior estimate while 2Q personal consumption decreased to 3.8% in a second estimate (expected 3.9%) from 4% in the prior estimate. Finally, pending home sales decreased by 0.7% in July, below the expectation of +0.3%, from a revised +1% in the last month. The S&P 500 (2,914.04) remains above its 20d moving average (2,855.65 – positive slope) and 50d moving average (2,808.80 – positive slope). read more

Brent Crude Technical Snap

Pivot: 76.55. Short positions below 76.55 with targets at 75.70 & 75.00 in extension. Above 76.55 look for further upside with 76.95 & 77.50 as targets.  RSI is mixed to bearish.

Today’s Economic Events

07:45 FR 2Q P GDP (QoQ) exp: 0.2% prev: 0.2%
07:45 FR JUL Households Consumption (MoM) exp: NA prev: 0.1%
13:30 US 2Q S GDP (QoQ) exp: 4% prev: 4.1%
13:30 US 2Q S GDP Price (QoQ) exp: 3% prev: 3%
13:30 US 2Q S Personal Consumption exp: NA prev: 4%
15:30 US W33 Crude Oil Inventories (WoW chg) exp: NA prev: -5836

General Market Comment

US indices closed higher on Tuesday, led by shares in the Real Estate (+1.19%), Technology Hardware & Equipment (+0.75%) and Food & Staples Retailing (+0.57%) sectors. On the economic data front, wholesale inventories MoM increased by 0.7% in a preliminary estimate in July (estimated +0.2%) from +0.1% in June. In addition, the Richmond Fed’s manufacturing index increased to 24 in August (estimated 17) compared to 20 from the prior month. Finally, the Conference Board consumer confidence index increased to 133.4 in August, above the estimate of 126.6, from a revised 127.9 previously. The S&P 500 (2,897.52) remains above its 20d moving average (2,850.66 – positive slope) and 50d moving average (2,805.77 – positive slope). read more