Dow went up 83 (session high), decliners over advancers 3-2 & NAZ rocketed ahead 198 to a new record again. The MLP index dropped 4 to the 122s & the REIT index was off 3+ to the 354s. Junk bond funds were little changed & Treasuries drifted lower in price. Oil was steady in the 43s & gold soared 30 to 1953 (more on both below).
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.2180338269244485)
Hurricane Laura, a major Category 4 storm, is set to hit near the
Texas-Louisiana border tomorrow as local officials scramble
to evacuate thousands of residents. The storm’s rapid
intensification shocked scientists and prompted forecasters to issue
warnings of “unsurvivable storm surge” in Texas & Louisiana. “Unsurvivable
storm surge with large and destructive waves will cause catastrophic
damage from Sea Rim State Park, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana,
including Calcasieu & Sabine Lakes,” the National Hurricane Center
said. “This surge could penetrate up to 30 miles inland
from the immediate coastline.” Laura could bring storm surge of nearly 13 feet to the coastline as
well as flash flooding & tornadoes on land. The storm battered the
Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico & Haiti over the weekend, knocking out
power for more than 1M, collapsing some homes & killing
at least 23 people. “I’m running out of words. Hurricane Laura
is now one of the fastest-intensifying storms in recorded history in the
Gulf of Mexico,” climate scientist Eric Holthaus said. “Laura now poses a catastrophic, potentially historic threat to
coastal Louisiana.” Leaders in Texas & Louisiana have ordered evacuations for at least 500K residents as the states grapple with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Officials are encouraging evacuees to take shelter in hotels where they can self-isolate instead of evacuation centers that could be crowded. Major oil & gas companies have already evacuated employees from offshore production sites in the Gulf of Mexico. Producers shut down roughly 84% of offshore production in
the Gulf as many refinery plants along the Texas & Louisiana coasts
shutter in anticipation of life-threatening storm surge.
Laura upgraded to Category 4 hurricane, ‘unsurvivable’ storm surge forecast for Texas-Louisiana
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that US crude inventories fell by 4.7M barrels last week, marking a 5th weekly decline in a row. That compared
with the forecast for
a decline of 4.3M barrels. The American Petroleum Institute yesterday reported a decrease of 4.5M barrels, according to sources. The
EIA data also showed crude stocks at the Cushing, Okla., storage hub
edged down by about 300K barrels for the week.
EIA reports a fifth-straight weekly decline in U.S. crude supplies
Moderna (MRNA) said its experimental coronavirus vaccine induced
immune responses in people aged 56 years & older that were comparable
to those seen in younger adults in a small study, a promising sign for a
vulnerable age group. Older adults are at higher risk of hospitalization & death from Covid-19 than younger people. While MRNA & other companies are racing to develop vaccines to
protect people from the new coronavirus, some experts have been
concerned that vaccines won't offer as much protection in older adults. The
immune system generally weakens with age, which can make it harder for a
vaccine to induce a sufficient immune response against disease. MNRA had released results from its first human study of its vaccine showing
that it induced immune responses & was generally safe &
well-tolerated in adults ages 18-55. The study, led by the National
Institutes of Health, was expanded to include people over the age of 55. In the Phase 1 study, volunteers received 2 doses of the vaccine, 4 weeks apart. MRNA added to the trial subjects who were 56 years & older to evaluate the vaccine's safety & effectiveness in the
older age groups. About 4 weeks after the 2nd shot, the 20 subjects in the trial who were
56 years & older developed what are called neutralizing
antibodies—agents of the immune system that fight the virus—in ranges
overlapping with those between the ages 18-55, according to interim
data presented to a committee of outside experts to
advise the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention on vaccine
policy for publication in a peer-reviewed medical journal. The company has started a large, pivotal trial aimed at assessing whether the immune responses translate into actual protection from Covid-19 disease. Earlier this month, MRNA said it had agreed to provide 100M doses to the US gov for $1.5B. Under the terms of the deal, the US has an option to buy another 400M doses. The stock rose 4.25.
If you would like to learn more about MRNA, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/MRNA?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Moderna says COVID vaccine appears to be working in these vulnerable adults
Gold futures tallied their highest finish in a week, as traders looked to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell'’s coming speech at the Jackson Hole, Wyo., economic summit for the precious metals' next big catalyst. Prices for gold had spent time today trading lower, pressured on the back of a rise in bond yields, with losses briefly accelerating after a reading on the sale of long-lasting goods came in better than expected. Durable goods orders for Jul jumped 11.2%, much higher than the consensus forecast of a 4.8% increase. The price moves come ahead of a highly anticipated speech from Powell, who is expected to provide a more accommodative signal, signaling that the central bank is willing to embark upon on unconventional way of thinking about rising inflation. Powell is expected to advocate for an asymmetric inflation target, one that allows policy makers to let inflation rise above their traditional annual target of 2%, which could be seen as bullish for gold & other precious metals. Dec gold rose $29 (1.5%) to settle at $1952 an ounce after touching a low of $1908. The settlement was the highest for a most-active contract since Aug 19. Prices fell 0.8% Tues to market the lowest settlement in a month.
Gold and silver futures finish at highest in a week
Oil futures settled on a mixed note, with US prices
holding ground at their highest finish since early Mar but global
benchmark prices slightly lower, as the Gulf Coast braced for
Hurricane Laura & potential damage to the region's energy
infrastructure. Prices failed to find much support from a 5th straight week
decline in US crude inventories amid the uncertainty surrounding the
actual impact of the storm on energy supply & demand. The Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement yesterday estimated that 84.3% of the current oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been
shut in, along with around 60.9% of natural-gas output. Over 45% of total US petroleum refining capacity is located
along the Gulf Coast, according to the Energy Information
Administration. Refiners that produce gasoline & diesel fuel planned to halt 9 facilities that process almost 2.9M barrels a day of oil, 14.6% of US total capacity. West Texas Intermediate crude for Oct inched up by 4¢ to settle at $43.39 a barrel & Oct Brent crude,
the global benchmark, meanwhile, lost 22¢ (0.5%) to $45.64 a barrel.
U.S. oil prices hold ground at highest since March as Hurricane Laura curtails Gulf output
Tech shares, primarily on NAZ, led today's advance while there were more declining stocks than advancing ones. Trading tomorrow will begin with the jobless claims report which will probably be drab, creating little excitement. Gold found buyers today after its recent profit taking correction. And popular stock averages continue near or at records.
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