Dow sank 177 (to the lows), decliners over advancers 4-1 again & NAZ retreated 39. The MLP index sank 6+ to the 296s. Junk bond funds remained lower & Treasuries also declined. Oil is back in the 65s (more below) & gold was off 12 to 1339.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]]()
The US is pushing for a breakthrough on its touchiest Nafta proposals within a month, underscoring the fragility of the new mood of optimism after Canada & Mexico came forward with fresh ideas. “My hope is that we start seeing some breakthroughs between now and the next round,” US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said, after the 6th session of talks to rework the new North American Free Trade Agreement. The next round will take place in Mexico in late-Feb. Trade experts had framed the Montreal round as pivotal, with the US putting pressure on Canada & Mexico to respond to proposals designed to shrink the American trade deficit. While Lighthizer said there were signs of progress, he made it clear the US wants to see more movement from its trading partners in the next few weeks. “The reality is that some of the participants weren’t really willing to talk about anything,” Lighthizer said, adding that he wants the discussions to move “much faster.” He added, “This is the first time they’ve been willing to talk about it at all.” Hanging over talks is Pres Trump's threat to quit the 24-year-old trade pact. Trump has regularly called it a horrible deal & blamed it for US manufacturing job losses, pledging as recently as last week to renegotiate or give a 6th-month notice of withdrawal. “I don’t think the president’s views have changed at all. His view has been if we can get a good agreement, we should have one,” Lighthizer said. Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said she was pleased with progress so far & Mexican Economic Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said the 3 countries are on the “right track” to reach a deal.
U.S. Says ‘Some Progress’ Was Made at Latest Nafta Talks
McDonald’s (MCD), a Dow stock & Dividend Aristocrat, is seeing a jump in customers, a sign its new Dollar Menu is attracting penny pinchers. It’s share of US traffic among fast-food & fast-casual restaurants rose to almost 18% in the latest week, an increase of about 0.4 of a percentage point from a year earlier, a report by researchers Datassential & Sense360 showed. The burger chain also improved in the prior 2 weeks. The positive results show that the $1, $2 & $3 menu is resonating with diners. The company recently began advertising items on the revamped Dollar Menu, which includes chicken tenders, cheeseburgers & a new classic chicken sandwich. Recovering lost customers is key to MCD's turnaround, which CEO Steve Easterbrook has been leading with discounts, faster service, fresh beef & by franchising stores globally. The company is scheduled to report Q4 earnings tomorrow & another qtr of positive same-store sales is expected. That metric rose 6% globally in Q3. The stock fell 59¢.
If you would like to learn more about MCD, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/MCD?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Lockheed Martin (LMT) reported a net loss in Q4 as the US defense contractor took a $1.9B charge mainly due to the change in US tax law, but beat expectations for sales & adjusted profit. LM expects 2018 net sales of $50.0-$51.5B & EPS of $15.20-$15.50. Net sales rose to $15.14B from $13.75B a year earlier compared with the estimate of $14.72B. The stock shot up 6.52.
If you would like to learn more about LMT, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/LMT?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Apple (AAPL), a Dow & NAZ stock, shares dropped after a report that the company ordered a drastic cut in iPhone X production. Nikkei reported that AAPL its suppliers to reduce iPhone X production to 20M units for Q1 from the more than 40M units target AAPL gave in Nov. The news agency cited weaker-than-expected sales results at the end of the holiday season as the reason for the move. The Nikkei article follows several recent reports pointing to weak iPhone X demand. As a result some analysts are getting worried enough over iPhone demand to downgrade the AAPL shares this month. The stock dropped 3.55.
If you would like to learn more about AAPL, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/AAPL?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Apple shares are falling on fears of plunging iPhone X demand
Even after stocks rallied in 2017, 2018 has been off to a good start with investors continuing to bid up equities, anticipating further growth in their value thanks to tax reform & a more business-friendly environment under Pres Trump As of today's close, the Dow was up 7.0% this month, its highest Jan gain since 1989 when it added 8.0%. If the Dow manages to surpass that 8% gain, then the next milestone would be Jan 1987 when Dow added 13.8% to its value. Now, with tax reform a reality, equities are expected to continue to climb, with extra impetus coming from the dramatically reduced corp tax rate, to 21% from 35%. Business leaders widely expect the healthy US economy to grow even further thanks to tax reform.
US stocks poised for best January performance in decades
Crude dropped by the most since mid-Dec as the $ strengthened and traders braced for an end to a record run of US inventory declines. NY futures dipped almost 2% as the rising value of the US currency crimped demand for dollar-denominated assets. At the same time, crude held in US storage tanks & terminals probably increased last week for the first time since early Nov, halting an unprecedented run of withdrawals. A contributing factor to yesterday's price drop was anxiety that hedge fund managers may begin unwinding wagers on higher oil prices after those bets spiraled to an all-time high. Oil lingers near the highest levels in 3 years amid supply caps by OPEC & allied producers including Russia. The majority of OPEC members agree that cuts should be maintained until the end of the year, the Iraqi Oil Minister said. Yet, with the US benchmark around $65 a barrel, the number of rigs drilling for crude in American fields is on the upswing. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh warned that crude at $60 will encourage output from shale fields, pushing prices down again. US crude production currently sits at 9.88M barrels a day. US crude stockpiles probably rose 538K barrels last week, according to a recent estimate. West Texas Intermediate for Mar delivery was down 58¢ to $65.56 a barrel & Brent for Mar settlement dropped $1.02 to $69.50.
After today's decline, it looks like the Dow will not be able to top the 8% advance in 1989. But this is still an excellent month for stocks (so far). Besides earnings, Trump's speech tomorrow & Janet's last press conference on Wed will be the major stock market drivers for the rest of Jan. The bulls remain in charge of this stock market rally.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
The US is pushing for a breakthrough on its touchiest Nafta proposals within a month, underscoring the fragility of the new mood of optimism after Canada & Mexico came forward with fresh ideas. “My hope is that we start seeing some breakthroughs between now and the next round,” US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said, after the 6th session of talks to rework the new North American Free Trade Agreement. The next round will take place in Mexico in late-Feb. Trade experts had framed the Montreal round as pivotal, with the US putting pressure on Canada & Mexico to respond to proposals designed to shrink the American trade deficit. While Lighthizer said there were signs of progress, he made it clear the US wants to see more movement from its trading partners in the next few weeks. “The reality is that some of the participants weren’t really willing to talk about anything,” Lighthizer said, adding that he wants the discussions to move “much faster.” He added, “This is the first time they’ve been willing to talk about it at all.” Hanging over talks is Pres Trump's threat to quit the 24-year-old trade pact. Trump has regularly called it a horrible deal & blamed it for US manufacturing job losses, pledging as recently as last week to renegotiate or give a 6th-month notice of withdrawal. “I don’t think the president’s views have changed at all. His view has been if we can get a good agreement, we should have one,” Lighthizer said. Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said she was pleased with progress so far & Mexican Economic Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said the 3 countries are on the “right track” to reach a deal.
U.S. Says ‘Some Progress’ Was Made at Latest Nafta Talks
McDonald’s (MCD), a Dow stock & Dividend Aristocrat, is seeing a jump in customers, a sign its new Dollar Menu is attracting penny pinchers. It’s share of US traffic among fast-food & fast-casual restaurants rose to almost 18% in the latest week, an increase of about 0.4 of a percentage point from a year earlier, a report by researchers Datassential & Sense360 showed. The burger chain also improved in the prior 2 weeks. The positive results show that the $1, $2 & $3 menu is resonating with diners. The company recently began advertising items on the revamped Dollar Menu, which includes chicken tenders, cheeseburgers & a new classic chicken sandwich. Recovering lost customers is key to MCD's turnaround, which CEO Steve Easterbrook has been leading with discounts, faster service, fresh beef & by franchising stores globally. The company is scheduled to report Q4 earnings tomorrow & another qtr of positive same-store sales is expected. That metric rose 6% globally in Q3. The stock fell 59¢.
If you would like to learn more about MCD, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/MCD?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
McDonald's Traffic Rises After New Dollar Menu Debut
Lockheed Martin (LMT) reported a net loss in Q4 as the US defense contractor took a $1.9B charge mainly due to the change in US tax law, but beat expectations for sales & adjusted profit. LM expects 2018 net sales of $50.0-$51.5B & EPS of $15.20-$15.50. Net sales rose to $15.14B from $13.75B a year earlier compared with the estimate of $14.72B. The stock shot up 6.52.
If you would like to learn more about LMT, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/LMT?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Lockheed Martin takes $2B charge, adjusted profit beats
Apple (AAPL), a Dow & NAZ stock, shares dropped after a report that the company ordered a drastic cut in iPhone X production. Nikkei reported that AAPL its suppliers to reduce iPhone X production to 20M units for Q1 from the more than 40M units target AAPL gave in Nov. The news agency cited weaker-than-expected sales results at the end of the holiday season as the reason for the move. The Nikkei article follows several recent reports pointing to weak iPhone X demand. As a result some analysts are getting worried enough over iPhone demand to downgrade the AAPL shares this month. The stock dropped 3.55.
If you would like to learn more about AAPL, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/AAPL?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Apple shares are falling on fears of plunging iPhone X demand
Even after stocks rallied in 2017, 2018 has been off to a good start with investors continuing to bid up equities, anticipating further growth in their value thanks to tax reform & a more business-friendly environment under Pres Trump As of today's close, the Dow was up 7.0% this month, its highest Jan gain since 1989 when it added 8.0%. If the Dow manages to surpass that 8% gain, then the next milestone would be Jan 1987 when Dow added 13.8% to its value. Now, with tax reform a reality, equities are expected to continue to climb, with extra impetus coming from the dramatically reduced corp tax rate, to 21% from 35%. Business leaders widely expect the healthy US economy to grow even further thanks to tax reform.
US stocks poised for best January performance in decades
Crude dropped by the most since mid-Dec as the $ strengthened and traders braced for an end to a record run of US inventory declines. NY futures dipped almost 2% as the rising value of the US currency crimped demand for dollar-denominated assets. At the same time, crude held in US storage tanks & terminals probably increased last week for the first time since early Nov, halting an unprecedented run of withdrawals. A contributing factor to yesterday's price drop was anxiety that hedge fund managers may begin unwinding wagers on higher oil prices after those bets spiraled to an all-time high. Oil lingers near the highest levels in 3 years amid supply caps by OPEC & allied producers including Russia. The majority of OPEC members agree that cuts should be maintained until the end of the year, the Iraqi Oil Minister said. Yet, with the US benchmark around $65 a barrel, the number of rigs drilling for crude in American fields is on the upswing. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh warned that crude at $60 will encourage output from shale fields, pushing prices down again. US crude production currently sits at 9.88M barrels a day. US crude stockpiles probably rose 538K barrels last week, according to a recent estimate. West Texas Intermediate for Mar delivery was down 58¢ to $65.56 a barrel & Brent for Mar settlement dropped $1.02 to $69.50.
After today's decline, it looks like the Dow will not be able to top the 8% advance in 1989. But this is still an excellent month for stocks (so far). Besides earnings, Trump's speech tomorrow & Janet's last press conference on Wed will be the major stock market drivers for the rest of Jan. The bulls remain in charge of this stock market rally.
Dow Jones Industrials
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