Dow dropped 96, advancers over decliners about 3-2 & NAZ went up 32. The MLP index fell fractionally to the 251s & the REIT index is back up to 371, closing in on its record highs in 2016. Junk bond funds continued higher & Treasuries remained in demand throughout the session. Oil inched higher in the 57s & gold rose 10 to 1301 (more on both below).
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.2180338269244485)
The British Parliament rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal in a vote today, with 242 votes in favor & 391 against. Market participants expected the rejection, as the House of Commons rejected her initial deal in Jan & the last-minute assurances May received from the EU weren't believed to be sufficient to turn votes around. Lawmakers will now have the chance to vote on whether they want a hard, no-deal Brexit tomorrow, followed by a vote on a possible extension of the Mar 29 Brexit deadline on Thurs. The British £'s reaction to the outcome was limited, as traders had anticipated the outcome. Sterling pared some of its losses, but remained in negative territory, last buying $1.3112, down 0.3%. Against the € the £ also gained slightly, with the shared currency last buying £0.8615, up 0.8%, off previous highs.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) trimmed its forecasts for US crude production for this year & next & lifted its 2019 forecasts for US & global benchmark oil prices. The EIA forecasts 2019 US crude production of 12.3M barrels a day, down 0.9% from the Feb forecast. It also lowered its 2020 output view by 1.3% to 13.03M barrels a day. For 2019, the gov agency lifted its West Texas Intermediate crude price outlook by 2.4% to $56.13 a barrel & its Brent view by 2.9% to $62.78. May crude was up 20¢ (0.3%) at $66.78 a barrel & Apr WTI added 35¢ (0.6%) to $57.14 a barrel.
EIA trims U.S. crude-oil output forecasts, lifts 2019 view on WTI, Brent prices
Gold & US oil settled higher following a delay on Comex & the New York Mercantile Exchange that resulted in both commodities seeing prices come in much later than usual. "Due to a technical issue, some metals and energy settlements were published later today," said the CME Group spokesman. Apr gold climbed by $7 (0.5%) to settle at $1298 an ounce, then moved up to $1301.80 in electronic trading & May crude was up 20¢ (0.3%) at $66.78 a barrel
Dow stock Boeing (BA) sank another 24+ after yesterday's major decline following the loss of the 737 plane. Its been 10 years without a plane crash in America, but 2 overseas in the last 5 months involving the same plane model have shaken a lot of people. The company's backlog is immense, but that counts for little presently. Meanwhile, Brexit is adding to investor uncertainty. However, the volatility index (VIX) has settled back to the 13s, indicating investors are comfortable with risks when buying stocks (they are eager to buy tech shares as shown by the recent rise in NAZ). A potential US-China trade deal is being monitored by the bulls.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
The top US trade negotiator suggests that the
US & China are nearing an agreement that would end their trade
conflict, but wouldn't commit to a specific time frame. "Our
hope is that we are in the final weeks of having an agreement," Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told the Senate Finance Committee today. But there are still major issues that need to be resolved, he said. "I can't predict success at this point." Lighthizer
also said the agreement would have to include an enforcement provision
that would enable the US to restore tariffs on Chinese imports if it
violated provisions of the pact. That is seen as a major sticking point
for Chinese officials. "We are going to have an enforceable agreement, or the president won't agree to the agreement," Lighthizer said. There
have been conflicting signals from the administration about progress in
the negotiations. Pres Trump said Fri he was confident that
US could reach a deal with China, which would presumably remove all or
most of the tariffs on $250B of Chinese imports that the Trump
administration imposed last year. China retaliated by slapping duties on
$110B of US goods. But Trump also said, "If this isn't a great deal, I won't make a deal." Sen
Robert Portman asked Lighthizer if a deal would
be reached by the end of this month. Chinese pres Xi Jingping is
scheduled to travel to Europe at that time & officials have hinted
that he could tack on a trip to Trump's Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, to
sign a pact by the end of Mar. Lighthizer said, "I don't know when it is going to happen." The timetable is up to Pres Trump, he added, & China. Lighthizer
also said that he & Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin
spoke with Chinese officials last night on the phone. The 2 sides
regularly exchange drafts of a 110-120 page agreement, he added.
WH official: US, China in 'final weeks' of trade talks
The British Parliament rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal in a vote today, with 242 votes in favor & 391 against. Market participants expected the rejection, as the House of Commons rejected her initial deal in Jan & the last-minute assurances May received from the EU weren't believed to be sufficient to turn votes around. Lawmakers will now have the chance to vote on whether they want a hard, no-deal Brexit tomorrow, followed by a vote on a possible extension of the Mar 29 Brexit deadline on Thurs. The British £'s reaction to the outcome was limited, as traders had anticipated the outcome. Sterling pared some of its losses, but remained in negative territory, last buying $1.3112, down 0.3%. Against the € the £ also gained slightly, with the shared currency last buying £0.8615, up 0.8%, off previous highs.
British Parliament rejects PM May's Brexit deal for second time by margin of 149 votes
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) trimmed its forecasts for US crude production for this year & next & lifted its 2019 forecasts for US & global benchmark oil prices. The EIA forecasts 2019 US crude production of 12.3M barrels a day, down 0.9% from the Feb forecast. It also lowered its 2020 output view by 1.3% to 13.03M barrels a day. For 2019, the gov agency lifted its West Texas Intermediate crude price outlook by 2.4% to $56.13 a barrel & its Brent view by 2.9% to $62.78. May crude was up 20¢ (0.3%) at $66.78 a barrel & Apr WTI added 35¢ (0.6%) to $57.14 a barrel.
EIA trims U.S. crude-oil output forecasts, lifts 2019 view on WTI, Brent prices
Gold & US oil settled higher following a delay on Comex & the New York Mercantile Exchange that resulted in both commodities seeing prices come in much later than usual. "Due to a technical issue, some metals and energy settlements were published later today," said the CME Group spokesman. Apr gold climbed by $7 (0.5%) to settle at $1298 an ounce, then moved up to $1301.80 in electronic trading & May crude was up 20¢ (0.3%) at $66.78 a barrel
Gold, WTI oil futures end higher after CME settlement delay
Dow stock Boeing (BA) sank another 24+ after yesterday's major decline following the loss of the 737 plane. Its been 10 years without a plane crash in America, but 2 overseas in the last 5 months involving the same plane model have shaken a lot of people. The company's backlog is immense, but that counts for little presently. Meanwhile, Brexit is adding to investor uncertainty. However, the volatility index (VIX) has settled back to the 13s, indicating investors are comfortable with risks when buying stocks (they are eager to buy tech shares as shown by the recent rise in NAZ). A potential US-China trade deal is being monitored by the bulls.
Dow Jones Industrials
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