Health insurance stocks are wary of Sanders' plan for private insuranceYesterday, Senator Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire democratic primary, but not in the blowout many expected. In the aftermath, J.P. Morgan Securities noted that for a candidate that supports the elimination of private insurance, the failure to secure a double-digit win is a boost for health insurer stocks. The brokerage fi...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday February 12.Key drivers The price range for ferro-titanium has been stable over the past week, with suppliers holding their offer prices against steady but low-key demand from consumers. No deals were reported, apart from in the scrap market where there were reports of almost 40 tonnes bought in the UK at the top end of the latest a...Read More
Bulls should keep an eye on the round $70 levelFor the last two years, the energy sector has become a persona non grata of sorts on Wall Street. According to a recent Wall Street Journal profile, the exchange traded fund (ETF) Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was the worst performing sector on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) in 2018 and 2019, and 2020 doesn't look like it will be any better.XLE curren...Read More
The Dow is eyeing a triple-digit win at the midday mark The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is piggybacking on this week's impressive rally, grabbing even more record highs, with a triple-digit pop at the midway mark amid a report from China's National Health Commission that coronavirus cases have slowed to their lowest levels in weeks. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) also hit another fresh high mid...Read More
Transport restrictions in China affecting raw material supply amid the coronavirus outbreak have led to a more active molybdenum spot market in China and as a result have lifted prices in South Korea and Europe. Low inventories in China have forced buyers there to import more material and subsequently drive the alloy and oxide prices to their highest levels since October 2019, according to Fastmar...Read More
NVDA has doubled off its June bottomWhile sector peer Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) climbs the charts, fellow chip name Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) has turned in an impressive run of its own. Today, the shares are up 0.7% to trade at $269.68, after receiving three price-target hikes between last night and this morning. The highest comes from Jefferies, who bumped its target up to a Street-hig...Read More
Bed Bath & Beyond's 5.4% drop in same-store sales missed analysts' estimates Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY) is continuing its journey lower today, down a dramatic 26.4% to trade at $10.94 after the retailer posted a 5.4% drop in same-store sales for December and January, which was wider than analysts' forecasts. The home goods specialist cited an increase in promotional activity, slowing tra...Read More
Shopify and Lyft stocks are in focus post-earningsU.S. stock futures are trading above fair value this morning, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) eyeing triple-digit territory at the open. Futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are pointing to a solid start as well, as investors consider a mix of earnings reports and coronavirus headlines. Fed Chair Jerome Powell i...Read More
The prices of hollow steel sections in Europe remained flat this week, with eyes on the soon-to-be-exhausted import quota allocated to Turkey, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday February 12.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?620-640 ($677-698) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week.Prices have remained steady des...Read More
Althoughits decline was not yet significant, the USD Index finally declined yesterday.Given the recent breakout above the November 2019 highs, this move lower mightleave one with mixed feelings. TheUSDX in the Short RunOnone hand, the USD Index just closed above the November high for the thirdconsecutive trading day, which confirms the breakout, and is a bullish factor.Onthe other hand, the USD In...Read More
MAC has plunged 44% over the past 12 monthsReal estate investment trust (REIT) Macerich Co (NYSE:MAC) is down 1%in electronic trading, moving lower on the heels of a bear note out of Piper Sandler. The brokerage firm downgraded to "underweight" from "neutral," and sliced its price target to $20 from $26. This revised outlook represents a 17.5% deficit from last night's close, and runs alongside t...Read More
The latest Investors Intelligence sentiment survey showed a drop in bullishness Sentiment is starting to sour despite the S&P 500 Index (SPX) trading at all-time highs, according to the weekly Investors Intelligence sentiment survey. Even though there was a 3% pullback in the second half of January partly due to uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus, the significant drop in sentiment seems unwa...Read More
Craig Hemke, TF MetalsAs you know, we've been following the palladium story for over two years now. It is very important to understand that this is NOT a speculative, COMEX story. Instead, this is a physical supply story that emanates from London. To that end, today let's review the COMEX data to see how The Banks are responding in this futures-only market.Let's begin with the chart below. This...Read More
By: Ira EpsteinGold has a lower highs and lower lows over the short-term. Choppy action. We are at the 18-dma, the battleground..Read More
Global manufacturers are waiting till end February to decide on their outsourcing strategy. If there is supply disruptions from China from March onwards then they will look to India and other Asian nations for their supplies. US economic numbers are not affecting gold price. Trend of all metals and energies on or after 18th February will be the key. China will fully reopen by then. There will be...Read More
Turkish pipe export prices have gone down over the past month on falling raw material prices and limited demand, sources said on Wednesday February 12.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel structural pipe, export, S235JR grade, EN10219, 2mm wall thickness, fob main port Turkey, was $510-515 per tonne on Wednesday, down from $545-550 per tonne in early January.The steel pipe producers in...Read More
As the thirdmost-consumed metal on earth, behind iron and aluminum, copper is all aroundus. Found naturally in the earth’s crust, copper was among the first metalsused by early humans, dating back to the 8th century, BC. Three thousandyears later homo sapiens figured out how to smelt copper from its ore, and toalloy it with tin to create bronze. Bronze was useful for tools and weapons,...Read More
Amid the worries about the coronavirus and its impacton the global economy, the US yield curve has briefly inverted again.Recession, anyone? And what exactly does the inversion imply for the goldmarket? Yield CurveInverts AgainOoops, it happened again – the yield curve has inverted! Please takea look at the chart below. It shows that at the turn of January and February, the spread between 10...Read More
Demand for aluminium and steel coil in China has come under strain while the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) crisis has allowed the gears of the country's automotive sector to grind to a halt.Many manufacturing plants across China - including those in the automotive segment - have paused operations in the past two weeks to February 12 after the government extended workers' Lunar New Year holiday to...Read More
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China has weakened the country's rebar market in recent weeks, sending prices to their lowest in close to three years. Fastmarkets' February 11 assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, ex-whs eastern China was 3,380-3,420 yuan ($485-490) per tonne, down 250-260 yuan per tonne from 3,640-3,670 yuan per tonne on January 23 - the last...Read More