AMERICAS OIL: *MARATHON WILMINGTON REFINERY REPORTS FLARING GASES DEC 18 - bbg

• Major US equity indexes remain weaker but are well off Tuesday morning lows in late trade, the general risk-off tone cooling ahead of Nvidia's eagerly awaited Q3 earnings late Wednesday. Currently, the DJIA trades down 243.41 points (-0.52%) at 46337.16, S&P E-Minis down 9.75 points (-0.15%) at 6680.25, Nasdaq down 92.8 points (-0.4%) at 22610.12.
• Chip makers continued to lead declines in late trade followed by Consumer Discretionary names:
  • Western Digital -4.80%, Micron Technology -4.29%, Advanced Micro Devices -3.36%, Microsoft -2.58%, Lam Research -2.09% and NVIDIA -1.55%.
  • Home Depot -4.27%, Amazon -3.19%, Tesla -1.18% and Lowe's Cos -1.10%.
• Meanwhile, Health Care and Consumer Staples sector shares continued to lead advances:
  • Medtronic +5.80%, Merck +4.14%, Biogen +2.72% and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals +2.52%
  • Netflix +3.86%, Warner Bros Discovery +3.30%, Take-Two Interactive Software +2.40% and Paramount Skydance +1.65%
• Larger names yet to announce earnings this week include: Target Corp, Valvoline Inc, Lowe's Cos, Williams-Sonoma, TJX Cos, NVIDIA, Palo Alto Networks, Jacobs Solutions, Bath & Body Works, Walmart, Copart, Gap, Intuit, Ross Stores and BJ's Wholesale Club.

• RES 4: 181.70 1.764 proj of the Jul 31 - Sep 29 - Oct 2 price swing 
• RES 3: 181.01 1.618 proj of the Jul 31 - Sep 29 - Oct 2 price swing 
• RES 2: 180.37 1.500 proj of the Jul 31 - Sep 29 - Oct 2 price swing
• RES 1: 180.20 High Nov 18
• PRICE: 180.01 @ 16:42 GMT Nov 18
• SUP 1: 177.93/176.14 20- and 50-day EMA values
• SUP 2: 174.82 Low Oct 17 
• SUP 3: 174.30 Bull channel support drawn from the Feb 28 low   
• SUP 4: 173.92 Low Oct 6 and a gap high on the daily chart  

The trend in EURJPY remains bullish and the cross is trading at its cycle highs. Recent strength has resulted in a break of the bull trigger at 178.82, the Oct 30 high, confirming a resumption of the medium-term uptrend and this maintains the rising price sequence of higher highs and higher lows. Sights are on 180.37, a Fibonacci projection. First support lies at 177.93, the 20-day EMA.  

• Crude has rallied in US hours on Tuesday, as ongoing concerns over the impact of sanctions against Russian have offset oversupply fears.
• WTI Dec 25 is up by 1.4% at $60.8/bbl.
• The grace period before the introduction of sanctions on Russia’s Rosneft and Lukoil ends Nov 21 as the market weighs the impact on global flows. The discount on Russia’s Urals benchmark is the highest since June 2023, according to Bloomberg.
• For WTI futures, resistance to watch is $62.59, the Oct 24 high. Clearance of this hurdle would signal scope for a stronger correction.
• On the downside, key support and the bear trigger remains at $55.96, the Oct 20 low.
• Meanwhile, previous metals have rebounded today, with spot gold currently up by 0.9% at $4,080/oz and silver 1.8% higher at $51.1/oz.
• Goldman Sachs said this week that gold could hit $4,900 by the end of 2026, driven by further heavy buying from central banks and private investors. Price could potentially go even higher if the private investors diversification theme gains more traction.
• Meanwhile, UBS said recently that gold could hit $5,000 in 2026 or 2027.
• For gold, recent gains suggest that the correction between Oct 20 and 28 was a correction that allowed an overbought condition to unwind.
• The short-term bull trigger has been defined at $4,245.23, the Nov 13 high. Key support to watch lies at the 50-day EMA, at $3,937.8.