U.S. Equity Markets surged yesterday as investors piled into the undervalued underlying market. This move higher saw the VIX get crushed, closing lower by 6.25% at a price of 16.87. A 5% rally in the Bank Index helped the Dow to lead yesterday’s gains, closing higher by 1.24%. The National Association of Home Builders (“NAHB”) reported the housing market index rose to a reading of 50 in May, up from 45 in April. (Any reading above 50 is considered a net positive.) Despite several headwinds for the housing industry, homebuilders are becoming more confident due to the severe existing-homes shortage. Builders believe this will eventually lead to a surge in demand for new home projects. OpenAI’s Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman and IBM’s (IBM) Chief Privacy Officer Christina Montgomery called on senators Tuesday to consider a faster response to the emergence of artificial intelligence (“AI”). The two warned that significant risks could arise regarding ethical, legal, and national security issues if regulations are not put in place soon enough. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester affirmed the central bank can stabilise prices – but it cannot do much about the below-trend economic growth in the long run. Mester asserted that quelling high inflation was a de-facto prerequisite for the return of a healthy economy. Target’s (TGT) first quarter earnings beat estimates, but management warned about a continued softening of consumer demand. Discretionary purchases saw a continued pullback which hurt the retailer’s sales growth and paved the way for lower guidance heading into the next quarter. European Markets closed lower. Only after the European Markets close did the American Indexes start yesterday’s large rally. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said he was unwavering in his commitment to bringing inflation back to the 2% annual growth target rate. Bailey warned that higher food prices and a tighter labour marker are proving to be real headwinds for the central bank. Adding that the need for further tightening would be dictated by continuing evidence of persistent pricing pressures. In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, Spain’s Energy Minister Teresa Ribera said that the European Union is ready to ban imports of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) from Russia sooner than later. The decision comes following recent bans on Russian crude oil and oil products as Europe continues its efforts to limit Russia’s energy export revenue. In Asia, Wall Street giants, including Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS), are scaling back their expansion plans and profit goals in China as the business climate weakens and geopolitical tensions rise. Many banks are also considering further job cuts, with some already reducing China-dedicated headcount earlier this year. The situation marks a stark reversal in strategy for many Wall Street firms, which were previously committed to taking on China’s banks and grab a larger share of its $60 trillion financial market. More investors are concerned about a sizable and sustained slowdown in the world economy due to multiple economic indicators from China and Germany from the past week. While the U.S. has done its best to stave off disaster thus far, a tightening credit landscape amidst high interest rates could be the final domino to topple the world into a recession. Elsewhere, Oil rose 2.90% while Gold fell 0.40%.
To mark my 2800th issue of TraderNoble Daily Commentary I am offering a special 2-Year Rate of Euro 2750 for my Platinum Service which includes 1 to 4 updated emails throughout the trading day to demonstrate this value, a monthly subscription over the same period would cost 4440 euro in total This offer represents a 38% discount and is open to both new and existing members. If anyone is interested in this offer can you please email me on bryan@tradernoble.com for details
For anyone following my Platinum Service it made 35 points yesterday and is now ahead by 2480 points for May. April saw a gain of 3354 points while March closed with a gain of 6168 points. The Platinum Service made 3164 points in February, 4687 points in January 2054 points in December, 4789 points in November and a record 9619 points last October. Since I started this New Platinum Service in June 2015 it has averaged a monthly gain of over 1900 points. I have a YouTube Channel which contains recent interviews I have given This can be viewed by clicking HERE Please subscribe to this for new interview notification
Recent Comments