I'd love to tell you that bulls have been sniffing glue and that they are long overdue for a brutal comeuppance. However, it turns out they are anything but wild-eyed, and their expectations are relatively subdued. AIAA's most recent survey found that 35.3% of investors are 'neutral' right now the highest percentage in seven months. As for bulls, they are at 39.3%, only slightly above the...Read More
Speculators doubled their money with February putsSubscribers to Schaeffer's PowerTrend service doubled their money with the Anadarko Petroleum Company (NYSE:APC) February 57.50 put. Here's a quick look at why we expected a big move lower from the oil stock, and how the profitable options trade unfolded.At the time of our recommendation on Thursday, Nov. 1, APC had just experienced a bearish outs...Read More
Oil prices are pulling back after a Trump tweetThe Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is up over 167 points at midday, on track for its highest close since Oct. 9, after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff tweet said the March 1 trade deadline with China has been extended. POTUS also tweeted about a potential upcoming meeting between the leaders of the two countries at Mar-a-Lago. The S&P 500 In...Read More
Macy's has lost almost 33% of its value in the past six monthsMacy's Inc (NYSE:M) is scheduled to report earnings before the open tomorrow, Feb. 26, as the shares continue to test the $24 level, last seen at $24.47. The stock has been bouncing atop this price point since its early January bear gap, sparked by the company's ugly holiday season performance, Friday bottoming out at $23.95 before clos...Read More
Prices in China for imports of 37% manganese ore fell over the week ended Friday February 22, with some buyers resisting recent rises in offer prices.Low-grade ore price fallsHigh-grade ore price ticks upwardUS prices of FeMn 78% and SiMn edge upwardSiMn price in China fallsAlloy prices stable in Europe and India.Fastmarkets' index price for 37% manganese ore, cif Tianjin, fell by $0.13 per dry me...Read More
Short interest remains very high on PLSE stockNano-pulse technology expert Pulse Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:PLSE) has seen its stock shoot higher in recent weeks, with the rally essentially starting at the end of January, when the shares were trading near $12. Today, PLSE stock is trading at 17.66, though this puts its 3.1% lower on the day, even after a positive analyst note. Specifically, H.C. Wain...Read More
The semiconductor concern was higher after President Trump announced a delay in tariff hikesThe shares of Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) are up 2.2% at $43.51 in early trading, popping on news that President Donald Trump would push back the March 1 deadline for new tariffs on Chinese goods. The semiconductor concern, which relies on China for a large portion of its revenue, is now at its highes...Read More
MSFT has had a great year on the chartsThe shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) are moving higher in early trading, after the tech giant was added to Wedbush's "Best Ideas List," the brokerage citing a compelling risk/reward over the next 12-18 months. The analyst also said Microsoft's cloud opportunities could be a "major tailwind" for MSFT shares, and that Azure is "starting to close th...Read More
A wave of restocking by Chinese ferro-chrome producers has prompted a jump in UG2 chrome ore prices. UG2 chrome ore prices rise in China Spot domestic ferro-chrome prices edge up in China Alloy prices hold up in Japan, South Korea Alloy prices inch higher in Europe US prices stable amid inactivity.UG2 chrome ore prices jumped in China on Friday February 22 amid a wave of restocking by domestic fer...Read More
The No. 2 copper scrap discount for China has widened notably in February mainly on increased scrap availability after a rebound in the copper price, while the industry is still lobbying with the government to avoid a total scrap ban that could happen as soon as 2021.Fastmarkets assessed the discount for birch and cliff scrap of 94-96% copper content on a cif China basis at 28-34 cents per lb this...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly higher at the close of trading on Monday February 25, with investor attention diverted amid a more than 2% tumble in oil futures over the afternoon, while US-China trade talks continue to act as a strong tailwind for prices. Leading the complex higher over the afternoon, the three-month tin price increased by more than 1% over the...Read More
GE has added more than 50% since its early December bottomThe shares of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) are soaring this morning, up 16.9% in electronic trading, after the industrial conglomerate sold its biopharmaceutical business to medical equipment maker Danaher (DHR) for $21.4 billion. GE's current CEO, Larry Culp, was the former head of Danaher. Should today's pre-market gains hold, it...Read More
HSBC raised its price target on China's NetflixHSBC raised its price target on iQIYI Inc (NASDAQ:IQ) stock to $25 from $20 overnight. Plus, CMB International said it was "bullish on iQiyi's subscription growth and margin improvement," and made note of the Beijing-based streaming name's "strong content pipeline, innovative ads, and manageable content cost with favorable licensing pricing trends."...Read More
Trump said he would postpone the March 1 deadlineDow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are up over 100 points today, after President Donald Trump announced that he would be extending the March 1 deadline for tariff hikes on Chinese goods. The U.S. president tweeted that "substantial progress" in trade talks with China was made, and that he is planning a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinpi...Read More
The volatility index is off to its worst year-to-date start on record in 2019The following is a reprint of the market commentary from the March 2019 edition of The Option Advisor, published on February 22. For more information, or to subscribe to The Option Advisor -- featuring 10 new option trades each month -- visit our online store.It was not quite a year ago in this space when we discussed a v...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday February 25 that are worth another look.US President Donald Trump has postponed his administration's plans to increase the current import duties on $200-billion worth of Chinese goods, de-escalating the trade tensions between the two countries. A flurry of fresh cancellations in London Metal Exchange copper this month has&nb...Read More
Bullish breadth is drawing headlines, but Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley sound downright bearish"...after an initial hesitation, the SPX pushed through the 2,758 level, which is 10% above its 2018 close... one should not be surprised to see a retreat below 2,758 in the absence of positive headlines this week ...The next obvious hurdle for the SPX is the round 2,800 area, which the index surrende...Read More
Gold Miners Underperform Even While Breaking Out Gold miners soared in the last few weeks, broke above their declining medium-term resistance line. The picture is therefore clearly bearish, right? Not so fast – if the outlook was bullish, miners should be leading gold higher, just like they did in 2016, and this is definitely not the case. What gives? What are gold stocks really trying to te...Read More
By: Jim Willie CB The Gold suppression game appears finally to be coming to an end. A Perfect Storm is hitting the Gold market, with an internal factor (QE), an external factor (SGE), and a systemic factor (Basel). These factors can be identified, each very powerful, each with a very new recent twist to alter the landscape. All three forces are positive in releasing Gold from the corrupt clutc...Read More
"A statistician is someone who can draw a straight line from an unwarranted assumption to a foregone conclusion." Anonymous "You know a country is falling apart when even the government will not accept its own currency." Jim Rogers, financier, adventure capitalist, b. 1942 "The generally accepted view is that markets are always right - that is, market prices tend to discount future development...Read More