US STOCKS: Late Equities Roundup: Off Lows, DJIA Outperforming
Jan-02 19:52
- The DJIA continues to climb higher Friday, SPX eminis and Nasdaq inching off second half lows to modestly higher in late trade. Currently, the DJIA trades up 333.4 points (0.69%) at 48401.01, S&P E-Mini Futures up 12 points (0.17%) at 6906, Nasdaq up 9.2 points (0%) at 23253.1.
- Tech-heavy Nasdaq and SPX indexes remain off early - to opening session highs amid increased competition for US chip and software companies. Asia equities traded strong overnight Hong Kong’s tech index jumped 3.6% after DeepSeek launched a paper on cheaper AI development, reigniting optimism over Chinese tech sector.
- Meanwhile, Shanghai Biren Technology Co surged 119%, after a successful IPO for the company. Baidu is also up strongly, after it submitted a proposal to spin-off its AI chip unit called Kunlunxin via a Hong Kong IPO, in which it currently holds around 60% (via BBG).
- In the US, however. a mix of Technology, Software and Services related stocks continued to lead declines in late trade: AppLovin Corp -7.73%, Palantir Technologies -5.56%, Intuit -4.75%, Gartner -4.55%, Workday -4.54%, Tyler Technologies -3.89%, Adobe -3.77%, Salesforce -3.62%, ServiceNow -3.45% and Crowdstrike Holdings -3.40%.
- Additional laggers included Progressive Corp -6.78%, Carvana -5.07% and Tesla -2.24% - the latter down after reporting the second consecutive year of lower than expected sales.
- On the positive side, Industrials and Energy sector shares continued to lead advances: Comfort Systems USA +6.73%, Caterpillar +4.19%, United Rentals +3.97%, Hubbell +3.86%, Quanta Services +3.84% and Boeing +3.52% buoyed the former while oil and gas shares supported the latter: Halliburton +5.10%, SLB Ltd +4.79%, Devon Energy +3.63%, Occidental Petroleum +3.55%, APA Corp +3.45% and ConocoPhillips +3.22%.
Want to read more?
Find more articles and bullets on these widgets:
Historical bullets
COMMODITIES: Crude Rises, Copper Extends Gains Amid Supply Concerns
Dec-03 19:48
- WTI crude prices have risen today after limited signs of a breakthrough in Ukraine peace plan discussions, while Caspian Pipeline Consortium disruption continues to be monitored.
- Weekly EIA data showed a modest rise in crude stocks while product builds were more substantial.
- WTI Jan 26 is up by 0.4% at $58.9/bbl.
- US Secretary of State Rubio said that talks are currently at the point of trying to work out what Ukraine can accept and to bridge the divide between it and Russia.
- For WTI futures, moving average studies are in a bear-mode position, highlighting a dominant downtrend. Key support and the bear trigger remains at $55.99, the Oct 20 low, while key short-term resistance is $61.84, the Oct 24 high.
- Meanwhile, spot gold has unwound earlier gains, which saw it trade as high as $4,241.5/oz, with price currently broadly unchanged at $4,209/oz.
- 20- and 50-day exponential moving averages continue to provide the notable supports, intersecting at $4,133 and $4,017 respectively.
- On the upside, sights are on key resistance and the bull trigger at $4,381.5, the Oct 20 high.
- Elsewhere, copper has outperformed on Wednesday, amid concerns of a US tariff-related squeeze on global supplies. Price is up by 2.9% at $539/lb, taking total gains since the Nov 21 lows to around 8%.
- Next resistance is at $550, the Jul 9 and 28 lows, a clearance of which would open $588.70, the Jul 30 high.
US TSY OPTIONS: Jan'26 10Y Vol Sale
Dec-03 19:43
- -5,000 TYF6 112.5/113.5 strangles, 39
FOREX: Dollar Index Breaks to 5-Week Lows, GBPUSD Surges Over 1%
Dec-03 19:37
- Broad dollar weakness has been notably extended Wednesday, prompting the DXY to print fresh pullback lows below 99.00, reaching a five-week low at 98.83. This extends the two-week selloff to around 1.55%, with the index previously stalling at touted 100.48 resistance in November.
- Greenback weakness continues to be a reflection of a more dovish profile for the Fed under potential Kevin Hassett leadership and an associated more optimistic risk backdrop. Weaker-than-expected ADP jobs data from the US and a softer headline ISM services PMI work in favour of the short-term narrative playing out.
- The USD index looks set to post a significant technical close, with the first daily close below the 50-day exponential moving average since early October. This impulse is generating several bullish signals across the rest of the G10 basket, and continues to bolster the optimistic sentiment for EM FX.
- GBP is a notable outperformer, assisted by a set of stronger PMI data this morning. The 1.05% rally for cable today may have been assisted by positioning dynamics as pre-budget positioning is squeezed further. Spot has narrowed the gap substantially to 1.3368, a Fibonacci retracement. Above here, 1.3416 is the next notable resistance, the Oct 21 high.
- The significance of the break below the 50-day EMA in EURGBP at 0.8755 also stands out. The cross is now on course for a close below the late November lows and the lowest level since October 28th.
- Elsewhere, AUDUSD has now printed eight consecutive sessions of higher highs, keeping a bullish theme firmly intact, while it is worth reiterating that a primary driver of AUD strength is the continued pullback in front-end vols. Price action narrows the gap to the Oct 29 high at 0.6618, which is a key near-term resistance. In similar vein, NZD continues its post-RBNZ recovery, with today’s 0.7% gains edging spot closer to the medium-term pivot at 0.5800.
- Both EUR, JPY and CHF are slightly underperforming G10 peers and the adjustment of the DXY, however, EURUSD looks set to close above a key resistance of 1.1656, a strong reversal signal.
