U.S. stocks slip after early gains; global markets take trade war to heart

U.S. stocks slip after early gains; global markets take trade war to heart

U.S. stocks started the day in the green with the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index up 0.44% was of 9:33 a.m. New York time. The index was still in the green as of 11 a.m. (up 0.38%) but then came the retreat. As of 11:30 a.m. the S&P 500 was off 0.37%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower by 0.25% and the NASDAQ Composite had declined 0.64%. The drop in the indexes came even as oil and energy stocks rallied

Oil climbs again on last trading day of 2017

Oil climbs again on last trading day of 2017

Oil climbed to a two-and-a-half year high this morning. Judging from the general “there’s no news today so follow the trend” nature of trading this morning, the bump in oil prices is likely to be a reflection of a continued belief in solid global growth for the year ahead and a bet on the continued downward trend in the U.S. dollar.

Oil climbs again on last trading day of 2017

Trick or Trend: Is the “geopolitical calm” over for oil?

Friday’s surge in oil prices on worries about deteriorating relations between the United States and Iran was a reminder of how extraordinary oil geopolitics have been recently: Just about every OPEC country–and most non-OPEC oil producers–have been pumping away without significant disruption. That’s not normal oil geopolitics for the last forty years or more. And I have to wonder how long this calm is going to last.

Quiet day so far but trends intact under surface

Quiet day so far but trends intact under surface

A very subdued market so far (at 2 p.m. New York time) today. Maybe it’s the solar eclipse. After all who wants to put on a long position when the sun is about to be eaten by dragons? As of 2 p.m. the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index was up just 0.06%. But under the placid surface the trends that have characterized the market recently continue to work.