Markets:
- WTI crude oil fell $0.49 or -0.65% at $73.43
- Gold down $-2.23 or -0.08% at $2636.47
- silver euros $0.35 or less 1.17% at $29.94
- Bitcoin is back above the $100,000 level at $101,830. The high price reached $102,514
The US dollar fell versus most of the major currency pairs with the exception of the JPY (the greenback gained 0.21%). The USD fell the most vs the CAD (-0.84%) despite PM Trudeau stepping down as Prime Minister, but not until a new leader is selected. US dollar was also weaker by -0.78% versus the EUR, and by -0.79% versus the GBP. Below are the % changes of the major currencies vs the USD:
Fundamentally, the dollar’s decline was influenced by a Washington Post article saying Pres. elect Trump is considering putting on global tariffs but only on ‘critical materials’.
Trump later debunked the article saying:
The story in the Washington Post, quoting so-called anonymous sources, which don’t exist, incorrectly states that my tariff policy will be pared back. That is wrong. The Washington Post knows it’s wrong. It’s just another example of Fake News.
Despite his objection, the declines in the USD remained.
US yields did move lower on the initial report, but clawed back the declines out the yield curve.The 2 year yield remained lower by -0.9 basis points. Looking at the yield curve snapshot near the close for the day shows:
- 2-year yield 4.270%, -0.9 basis points
- 5-year yield 4.424%, +1.4 basis points
- 10 year yield 4.623%, +2.9 basis points
- 30 year yield 4.845%, +3.0 basis points
On the economic calendar front,
- S&P global composite index fell to 55.4 from 56.6 preliminary. That was higher than last month’s 54.9
- US factory orders fell -0.4% versus -0.3% estimate
Fed speak was limited to Fed Gov. Cook who said that while the labor market has cooled over the past year, it remains solid and is not a significant source of inflation. She noted that risks to inflation and employment are now roughly balanced, allowing the Federal Reserve to approach rate cuts cautiously. Cook highlighted private credit and artificial intelligence as emerging financial stability risks and suggested that reducing rates to a neutral level would be appropriate over time.
US broader stock indices rose for the second consecutive day. The Dow industrial average did fall. A snapshot of the final numbers shows:
- Dow industrial average, -0.06%
- S&P index, +0.55%
- NASDAQ index, +1.24%
- Russell 2000, -0.08%
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will deliver a keynote address at CES 2025 on Monday at 6:30 p.m. PT. Rumors suggest the event will feature new GPUs for PCs, updates on robotics, AI cloud ventures, and possibly details about the next-generation “Rubin” chip which follows the Blackwell chip. From Tuesday to Friday, Nvidia will showcase advancements in AI, gaming, and automotive technologies. Nvidia shares closed at a new record level at $149.43 up 3.43%