Dow jumped up 258 (session highs), advancers over decliners 5-2 & NAZ gained 29. The MLP index advanced 5+ to the 228s & the REIT index went up 1+ to 400 (record territory). Junk bond funds were little changed & Treasuries remained strong. Oil rose to the 55s while gold slid back 1 to 1550 (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)
US-China trade war: Beijing will face additional tariffs Trump threatened to enact
Gold futures turned lower, after the sharp rally in the past month to the highest levels since 2013, discouraged some potential buyers who are now waiting for a dip or some consolidation in prices in order to invest, analysts said. Gold for Dec fell $2.70 (0.2%) to settle at $1549 an ounce after settling at $1551 yesterday, the highest finish for a most-active contract since Apr 2013.
Oil futures posted a gain, after gov data reported a weekly drop in US crude supplies, the largest in 5 weeks, along with declines in petroleum products, which helped to ease concerns about a slowdown in demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for Oct, the US benchmark, rose 85¢ (1.6%) to settle at $55.78 a barrel. Prices settled at their highest in just over a week, but off the session's high of $56.75. Oct Brent crude, the global benchmark, added 98¢ (1.7%) at $60.49 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration reported that US crude supplies fell by 10M barrels last week. That was the biggest one-week decline reported by the gov agency since the 10.8M-barrel fall for Jul 19. The forecast called for a decline of 4.7M barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute yesterday reported an 11.1M-barrel decrease. This rise in crude-oil prices followed a rally yesterday that saw the US benchmark up more than 2%, buoyed in part by data that showed compliance with production curbs agreed to by members of OPEC & their non-OPEC allies hit 159% in Jul, its highest so far this year.
Buyers came out today without any dramatic news. It's the end of summer trading, so it's difficult to make sense out of market changes. However, the chart for the Dow below shows this has been a tough month. And some of the money from stocks has been invested in gold & Treasuries. Negative thinking investors are putting that money into gov bonds that yield a measly 2% for 30 years. Meanwhile trade talks drone on, going nowhere. More trouble may like ahead for stocks.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
The Trade Representative's office confirmed that the US will levy an additional 5% tariff on $300B worth of Chinese goods starting Sep 1. The tax, originally set at 10%, will now take effect at 15%. The decision comes after Pres Trump wrote on Twitter last week that the US would ratchet up tariffs after China's
"politically motivated" decision to raise taxes on US goods. The 2
countries have engaged in a back-&-forth tariff battle for more than a
year. The tariffs on Chinese goods will be implemented incrementally. Officials will slap tariffs onto one batch of goods on Sep 1 &
another on Dec 15. However, Trump declared that his negotiators were
encouraged by recent communications from China yesterday The Chinese
foreign ministry denied knowledge of any such communications, but stocks
still received a boost early Mon after Trump's announcement. American consumers felt slightly less confident in Aug compared to Jul as the trade battle continued.
US-China trade war: Beijing will face additional tariffs Trump threatened to enact
Federal
Reserve Bank of Richmond Pres Tom Barkin said that while the US
economy looks strong, intl growth has weakened and
trade-related uncertainty is high. "If you look at the data, the national economy appears great," he said in remarks prepared for delivery today, noting that US economic growth is solid,
while consumers are confident & spending. "International economies
are weaker, though, and uncertainty -- particularly around trade -- is
elevated. Business investment dropped in the second quarter." Barkin said the Federal Reserve is monitoring the impact of its ¼-percentage-point interest rate cut implemented after its policy
meeting on Jul 30-31. But he gave no clues about the future path of
rates. Bond-market futures are pricing in a 95% probability of another
qtr-point rate cut at the Fed's next meeting on Sep 18, lower the Fed's benchmark federal-funds
rate to a range 1.75-2%. The probability of a ½-percentage-point cut are estimated at 5%. Pres Trump has ratcheted up the trade war with China since the
Fed's last meeting, announcing plans to impose 10% tariffs on a range
of imported consumer goods & to raise tariffs on another swath of
goods to 30% from 25%.
Fed's Barkin Says U.S. Economy Looks Strong, but ..
Gold futures turned lower, after the sharp rally in the past month to the highest levels since 2013, discouraged some potential buyers who are now waiting for a dip or some consolidation in prices in order to invest, analysts said. Gold for Dec fell $2.70 (0.2%) to settle at $1549 an ounce after settling at $1551 yesterday, the highest finish for a most-active contract since Apr 2013.
Gold ends lower, in retreat from their highest levels since 2013
Oil futures posted a gain, after gov data reported a weekly drop in US crude supplies, the largest in 5 weeks, along with declines in petroleum products, which helped to ease concerns about a slowdown in demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for Oct, the US benchmark, rose 85¢ (1.6%) to settle at $55.78 a barrel. Prices settled at their highest in just over a week, but off the session's high of $56.75. Oct Brent crude, the global benchmark, added 98¢ (1.7%) at $60.49 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration reported that US crude supplies fell by 10M barrels last week. That was the biggest one-week decline reported by the gov agency since the 10.8M-barrel fall for Jul 19. The forecast called for a decline of 4.7M barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute yesterday reported an 11.1M-barrel decrease. This rise in crude-oil prices followed a rally yesterday that saw the US benchmark up more than 2%, buoyed in part by data that showed compliance with production curbs agreed to by members of OPEC & their non-OPEC allies hit 159% in Jul, its highest so far this year.
Oil prices post a gain as EIA reports biggest U.S. crude supply decline in 5 weeks
Buyers came out today without any dramatic news. It's the end of summer trading, so it's difficult to make sense out of market changes. However, the chart for the Dow below shows this has been a tough month. And some of the money from stocks has been invested in gold & Treasuries. Negative thinking investors are putting that money into gov bonds that yield a measly 2% for 30 years. Meanwhile trade talks drone on, going nowhere. More trouble may like ahead for stocks.
Dow Jones Industrials
