Market Summary: The long & the short of it.
Most global markets rallied again yesterday on the contradictory comments from the U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators. The financial press decided to highlight the positive narrative and run with more optimistic comments. The S&P 500 nudged higher for another record finish at 3085 for a gain of +0.27%. The New York Composite (NYA) finished on a positive note also and finished the day at 13,395 for a gain of +0.33%. The NYA record set in January 2018 still remains elusive for the wider market.
U.S. treasuries faced a major sell during the day and drove the yields on the 2-Year and the 10 -Year to multi-week highs. The 2-year finished at 1.67%, while the 10-year finished at 1.92% and steepening out the yield curve to 25 basis points.
The move higher in U.S. treasury interest rates had the opposite effect on the precious metals, causing pain for both gold and silver. Gold ended the day at $1468 an ounce for a loss of -1.29%, while Silver suffered a little more trauma and finished the day at $17.08 an ounce for a loss of -2.59%. Crude Oil (WTI) trading was a volatile affair yesterday but ultimately Crude ending the day where it began at $56.91 a barrel for a small gain of +0.32%.
Asian markets were mixed on Thursday’s trading. The Chinese Shanghai Composite was up 0.14% to finish at 2979, while the Japanese Nikkei 225 saw a gain of 0.08%, closing out at 23,348. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was off 0.63% and the index dipped to 27,664.
European markets finished higher on Thursday with shares in Germany leading the region. The DAX was up 0.83% to 13,289, while France’s CAC 40 is up 0.41% to 5,890 and the UK’s FTSE 100 up 0.13% to 7406.
South American markets closed broadly higher on Thursday with shares in Brazil leading the region. The Bovespa climbed 1.13% while Mexico’s IPC was up 0.69%.
Cryptos were all down on the day. Bitcoin finished down -0.46% to finish at 9,219.
With all the optimism surrounding the trade talks and the Pavlovian bell ringing loudly, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) settled near 13 for a fourth straight day.