Markets give up gains with heavy selling in the last hour of trading

Dow finished down 104 (dropping 300 in the last hour), advancers just ahead of decliners & NAZ sank 185 (hit by the same selling).  The MLP index was off 1+ to the 134s & the REIT index fell 3+ to the 359s.  Junk bond funds were mixed & Treasuries dropped in price, raising their yields.  Oil slid back in the 41s & gold plummeted a staggering 104 to 1934 (more on both below).

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The Labor Dept expects enhanced unemployment checks to go out in roughly 2 weeks, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said.  "The baseline of unemployment from states is roughly $400 per person per week, that's the median. On top of that, the federal government is going to put in $300. ... We will work with [governors] if there's any complications," Kudlow added.  Pres Trump's exec actions included $400 per week in supplemental unemployment aid — a replacement of the program passed under the CARES Act earlier this year that gave unemployed people $600 a week extra until the federal program expired at the end of Jul.  At first, the action required states to pay for 25% of the $400 weekly benefit, while the federal gov would pick up 75%.  Today, Kudlow indicated the administration was backing away from that & said the administration would consider any $100 in unemployment insurance a state   "We modified slightly the mechanics of the deal," Kudlow said.  "States can still, if they put another $100 in to raise the benefit more generally, that's fine. ... Any state who put in $100 before, and every state did, they will then qualify for the extra $300."  Kudlow also criticized Dems for their unwillingness to pass a coronavirus relief package under $2T.  "The Democratic numbers are way too high. ... A third of it has nothing to do with COVID," Kudlow said.  "That needs to be stripped out. That's Democratic left-wing wish list, take that out, chop their number down."

Enhanced coronavirus benefits to start in 2 weeks, Kudlow says

The State Dept is rejecting what it calls Beijing's attempt to "extend authoritarian rule beyond its borders" after the Chinese gov imposed sanctions on 11 US citizens -- including a number of high-profile Rep senators.  “We condemn these actions, which indicate the Chinese Communist Party has no tolerance for public discussion of human rights and freedom of expression both within and beyond its borders,” the State Dept said.  After China announced that it would impose sanctions on 11 US citizens, it did not specify what the sanctions were, but Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the 11 had “performed badly” on issues concerning Hong Kong, where the Chinese have been engaged in an incursion on long-held freedoms in the territory after it passed a national security law to deal with protests.  The US has responded to the crackdown with a number of measures, & last week announced it was sanctioning Hong Kong's Chief Exec Carrie Lam & a number of other top officials over their role in Beijing's incursions.  “We condemn indictments against American citizens for exercising the right to free expression,” the State Dept said.  “We reject Beijing’s attempt to extend authoritarian rule beyond its borders. These measures are not for national security but intended to intimidate and silence free speech both inside and outside Hong Kong.”

US rejects China's attempt to 'extend authoritarian rule' after sanctions

Boeing (BA), a Dow stock, customers canceled plans to buy 43 of the manufacturer's troubled 737 Max planes in July as scrapped orders outpaced sales for a 6th consecutive month, the company said.  Last month BA cut production targets for some of its aircraft including the 737 Max & the 787 Dreamliner as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hurt demand for new planes.  This year thru Jul, BA has net negative orders of 836 planes, including aircraft the company took out of its backlog of orders awaiting fulfillment.  The comany routinely removes orders from its running tally when customers are financially strained, among other reasons.  The Jul adjustments trimmed the backlog to 4496 orders.  Most of the 737 Max cancellations were from aircraft leasing companies.  The company delivered 4 airplanes in Jul, including a 767 freighter & a 777 freighter as well as two 787 Dreamliners.  The pandemic adds to BA troubles since the Mar 2019 grounding of the 737 Max in the wake of 2 fatal crashes.  The Federal Aviation Administration is getting closer to allowing the planes to fly again but the company has yet to win final approval.  CEO Dave Calhoun said late last month that he was “hopeful” aircraft demand would start to recover in H2-2021.  The stock went up 69¢.  If you would like to learn more bout BA, click on this link:                                                              club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/BA?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7

Boeing order cancellations outpace new sales for sixth straight month as demand continues to fall

Florida reported 276 new deaths caused by the coronavirus, marking the highest number of deaths reported in a single day by the state since the pandemic began.  That brings the total number of Covid-19 deaths in Florida to 8553, according to the state's dept of health.  Florida also reported 5886 new cases of the virus, bringing the cumulative total to 543K confirmed cases across the state since the outbreak began.  The state previously reported a single-day high of 257 Covid-19 deaths on Jul 31, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.  The 7-day average of new Covid-19 deaths in Florida hit a high of 185 average daily deaths per day on Aug 5.  The percent of tests that came back positive yesterday also increased to 10.3%, up from about 8.6% on Sun.  That statistic is a closely watched data point that could indicate whether the outbreak is expanding & whether the state is conducting enough testing.  Florida is one of the hardest-hit states in the country by the coronavirus, but daily new cases have appeared to decline in recent days.  Epidemiologists, however, warn that it's too soon to establish any kind of strong trend & say that testing has fallen even faster.  The 7-day average of daily new cases has dropped by 38% compared with 2 weeks ago, but testing has declined as well.  The state was running roughly 54K tests per day 2 weeks ago, but that has dropped by 46% to just over 37K as of yesterday.  Deaths, which lag behind daily new cases as people get infected, become sick & eventually die, are seen as a more stable indicator of an outbreak, because they are less dependent on available testing capacity.

Florida coronavirus deaths reach another grisly record as state grapples with testing constraints

Gold futures fell sharply, prompting bullion to post its steepest daily $ slide in more than 7 years as global stocks & Treasury yields rose on optimism over prospects for a vaccine & signs of a slowdown in the number of new COVID-19 cases in the US.  Russian Pres Vladimir Putin announced that Russia had become the first country to register a vaccine against the coronavirus responsible for the pandemic, though the announcement drew criticism from medical experts.  Prices for the yellow metal have surged to records at least partly on the back of the economic damage wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, & the potential for a vaccine has been considered a bearish factor for the precious metal that thrives on uncertainty.  Meanwhile, commodity investors also parsed inflation data on producer prices.  US producer prices jumped by an unexpected 0.6% in Jul, well above the 0.3% forecast.  Core PPI, which strips out food and energy costs, rose 0.3%.  Dec gold shed $93 (4.6%) to settle at $1946 an ounce, prompting the precious metal to log its steepest one-day $ decline since 2013, & one of the steepest ever.. 

Gold futures suffer biggest daily dollar decline in more than 7 years

Oil futures finished lower, with prices dragged down by traders' need to cover margins on the back of big losses in the precious metals market, but expectations for tighter oil US supplies limited price declines.  West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for Sep fell 33¢ (0.8%) to settle at $41.61 a barrel, while the global benchmark, Oct Brent crude, lost 49¢ (1.1%) at $44.50 a barrel.  WTI & Brent saw intraday highs at $42.94 & $45.79, respectively.  Traders eyed developments tied to efforts toward economic relief from the impact of the coronavirus.  White House officials & top Dem lawmakers yesterday indicated they were ready to resume talks on a coronavirus aid package after Pres Trump over the weekend signed exec orders that would extend some elements of existing help that lapsed at the end of Jul, though there as little sign of movement.  Those measures, meanwhile, face legal & logistical hurdles.  Trump late yesterday said the administration was considering a cut in the tax rate on capital gains, which analysts said helped fuel gains for US benchmark stock indices.

Oil futures end lower, but expectations for tighter U.S. supplies limit losses

Selling was substantial in the last hour after the Dow had been above 28K level previously.  Tomorrow should be an exciting day for stocks.  Gold had a memorable day for the gold bugs.  After its recent rally, that selling should have been expected.

Dow Jones Industrials