Well it’s happened – the Dow Jones has closed above 13,000 points for the first time in 4 years! It only took a few trillion in stimulus! It means daylight and infinity and beyond! Or maybe its just a number, because the reality is the US stock market is still in a secular bear market and has been since 2000:
And let’s not forget that oil prices are not only up in Euros, but in USD (Brent crude is the most relevant here):
So with that wet blanket, let’s have a closer look at what happened last night in detail:
The UK FTSE finished flat, up only 12 points or 0.2% to 5927, also seeking a mythical round number to stamp out the bears, with the German DAX stronger, up 38 points or half a percent to 6887 points.
The Euro (EUR/USD) was slightly stronger against the USD, up above 1.34 where it is currently trading this morning, as other currencies (Pound, Swiss, CAD) pushed the USD Index down slightly to 78.2 points, still just above the 78 support zone:
The resilient AUD is still above general resistance at 1.07 where it remains in early trade this morning against the USD, in a tight trading range that could be building for a breakout above. This is also another barometer of risk – a breakout above these levels would be telling, to put it mildly, as AUD continues to be the speculator’s delight.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the S&P500 closed up 4 points or 0.3% and of course the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 23 points or just over 0.1% to close above the elusive 13000 point level. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite outperformed – seemingly on its way to the magic number of 3000 points, up 0.6% for the day.
US 10 year T-Notes remain below 2% yield at 1.94%, barely slipping as the “dangerous” asset continuing to display strength in a risky world, alongside German bonds, at 1.8% yield – gaining for the night. For reference, Aussie 10 year yields are hovering around 4% – slipping above to be at 4.01% yield again.
To commodities, where energies corrected the strongest, withWTI crude losing $2 per barrel alongside Brent crude now below $122USD on the 3 month futures.
Gold had its usual $10-15 trading range on the London and NYMEX markets after the Asian session, gaining almost 1% or $15 to $1783USD an ounce, where it remains on the open of the Hong Kong session.
Metals are on a bit of a tear – particularly silver:
The ebullience hasn’t fully extended to the S&P/ASX200 index with futures pointing to a soft open around 7 points higher this morning, to around the 4275 points level.
Trading Day will cover the Asian market session and the “ASX8” stocks after the close in the afternoon.