Saturday, March 31, 2018

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
  • China Exports Shrug Off Talk of Trade War, Factory Gauge Surges. A gauge of activity at China’s manufacturers posted its first gain since November, as factories recovered from a seasonal dip at the start of the year and export demand shrugged off threats of a trade war. The manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 51.5 in March versus the 50.6 estimate in Bloomberg’s survey and 50.3 last month. The non-manufacturing PMI, covering services and construction, stood at 54.6, the statistics bureau said Saturday, compared with 54.4 in February. Levels above 50 indicate improvement.
  • How Facebook(FB) Helps Shady Advertisers Pollute the Internet.
Wall Street Journal:

Friday, March 30, 2018

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
  • Stocks Are About to Get a $400 Billion Dividend Boost. Here’s a fresh reason to celebrate the end of a lousy quarter in global equities: the new one kicks off with the potential adrenaline boost of as much as $400 billion in dividends. “We think it is no coincidence that spring is also a seasonally strong period for equities," Morgan Stanley strategists including Andrew Sheets wrote in a note to clients Wednesday. Up to $400 billion is set to be paid into investor accounts between March and May, they calculated. “April in particular tends to be a strong month for global equity returns.”
  • China Plans Merger of Shipbuilders to Create Behemoth. China’s government is working on a plan to combine its two biggest shipbuilders to create an industrial giant that would dwarf its South Korean rivals, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The state council, China’s cabinet, has given its preliminary approval to merge China State Shipbuilding Corp. with China Shipbuilding Industry Corp., the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. The two companies have combined revenue of at least 508 billion yuan ($81 billion) making products ranging from aircraft carriers for China’s navy to vessels to carry containers, oil and gas for commercial companies.
Wall Street Journal:
Zero Hedge:

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Weekly Scoreboard*

S&P 500 2,649.55 +.16%*





















The Weekly Wrap by Briefing.com.
 
Indices
  • DJIA 24,215.30 +1.28%
  • NASDAQ 7,070.66 -.78%
  • Russell 2000 1,536.55 -.39%
  • S&P 500 High Beta 42.70 -.84%
  • Goldman 50 Most Shorted 140.63 -.74%
  • Wilshire 5000 27,391.60 +.27%
  • Russell 1000 Growth 1,374.07 -.09%
  • Russell 1000 Value 1,183.01 +.34%
  • S&P 500 Consumer Staples 541.49 +2.35%
  • Vanda Cyclicals-Defensives 1.5558 -4.65%
  • NYSE Technology 1,808.07 -2.34%
  • Transports 10,400.30 +1.13%
  • Utilities 692.73 +1.51%
  • Bloomberg European Bank/Financial Services 94.11 -.71%
  • MSCI Emerging Markets 47.68 -1.93%
  • HFRX Equity Hedge 1,283.74 -.53%
  • HFRX Equity Market Neutral 1,014.59 -.39%
Sentiment/Internals
  • NYSE Cumulative A/D Line 310,872 -.98%
  • Bloomberg New Highs-Lows Index -223 -74
  • Bloomberg Crude Oil % Bulls 44.0 n/a
  • CFTC Oil Net Speculative Position 703,708 +5.3%
  • CFTC Oil Total Open Interest 2,392,391 -.45%
  • Total Put/Call .94 -22.76%
  • OEX Put/Call .26 -61.76%
  • ISE Sentiment 121.0 +37.5%
  • NYSE Arms .83 -49.52%
  • Volatility(VIX) 19.70 -14.1%
  • S&P 500 Implied Correlation 47.07 +4.92%
  • G7 Currency Volatility (VXY) 7.63 -1.04% 
  • Emerging Markets Currency Volatility (EM-VXY) 7.96 +2.18%
  • Smart Money Flow Index 17,181.30 -6.76%
  • ICI Money Mkt Mutual Fund Assets $2.825 Trillion +.18%
  • ICI Domestic Equity Mutual Fund/ETFs Weekly Flows -$17.122 Billion
  • AAII % Bulls 31.9 -3.9%
  • AAII % Bears 35.3 +24.0%
Futures Spot Prices
  • CRB Index 195.36 +.07%
  • Crude Oil 64.93 +.95%
  • Reformulated Gasoline 201.79 +.50%
  • Natural Gas 2.73 +4.16%
  • Heating Oil 202.84 +1.97%
  • Gold 1,323.90 -.47%
  • Bloomberg Base Metals Index 200.94 -.64%
  • Copper 303.20 +.30%
  • US No. 1 Heavy Melt Scrap Steel 338.33 USD/Metric Tonne unch.
  • China Iron Ore Spot 64.41 USD/Metric Tonne +1.92%
  • Lumber 517.0 +6.76%
  • UBS-Bloomberg Agriculture 1,031.47 +.27%
Economy
  • Atlanta Fed GDPNow Forecast +2.4% +60.0 basis points
  • ECRI Weekly Leading Economic Index Growth Rate 5.2% -30.0 basis points
  • Philly Fed ADS Real-Time Business Conditions Index .2321 -2.3% 
  • US Economic Policy Uncertainty Index 14.21 -72.38%
  • S&P 500 Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 160.99 +.16%
  • Citi US Economic Surprise Index 49.80 +3.5 points
  • Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index -56.8 +.9 point
  • Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index 31.80 -3.6 points
  • Fed Fund Futures imply 74.3% chance of no change, 25.7% chance of 25 basis point hike on 5/2
  • US Dollar Index 90.05 +.26%
  • MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index 1,722.06 +.26%
  • Bitcoin/USD 7,439.28 -13.4%
  • Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 136.48 +1.20%
  • Yield Curve 57.25 -9.25 basis points
  • 10-Year US Treasury Yield 2.74% -9.0 basis points
  • Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet $4.361 Trillion n/a
  • U.S. Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 23.04 -1.2%
  • Illinois Municipal Debt Credit Default Swap 261.29 +2.79%
  • Italian/German 10Y Yld Spread 129.0 -16.75 basis points
  • Asia Pacific Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap Index 13.25 +2.11%
  • Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt CDS Index 34.64 +25.8%
  • Israel Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 53.73 +7.07%
  • South Korea Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 51.66 -.95%
  • Russia Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 123.49 +2.09%
  • iBoxx Offshore RMB China Corporate High Yield Index 148.62 +.05%
  • 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.06% -2.0 basis points
  • TED Spread 60.75 +20.0 basis points
  • 2-Year Swap Spread 30.75 -2.5 basis points
  • 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -6.50 +3.5 basis points
  • N. America Investment Grade Credit Default Swap Index 65.86 +2.81%
  • America Energy Sector High-Yield Credit Default Swap Index 448.0 +3.27%
  • European Financial Sector Credit Default Swap Index 66.19 +1.6%
  • Emerging Markets Credit Default Swap Index 137.46 -4.85%
  • CMBS AAA Super Senior 10-Year Treasury Spread to Swaps 170.0 +2.0 basis points
  • M1 Money Supply $3.688 Trillion n/a
  • Commercial Paper Outstanding 1,061.50 -.40%
  • 4-Week Moving Average of Jobless Claims 224,500 +3,000
  • Continuing Claims Unemployment Rate 1.3% unch.
  • Average 30-Year Mortgage Rate 4.44% -1.0 basis point
  • Weekly Mortgage Applications 401.30 +4.78%
  • Bloomberg Consumer Comfort 56.8 unch.
  • Weekly Retail Sales +3.20% +20.0 basis points
  • Nationwide Gas $2.65/gallon +.06/gallon
  • Baltic Dry Index 1,080.0 -3.31%
  • China (Export) Containerized Freight Index 788.74 -2.59%
  • Oil Tanker Rate(Arabian Gulf to U.S. Gulf Coast) 22.50 +28.6%
  • Rail Freight Carloads 260,765 -4.83%
Best Performing Style
  • Mid-Cap Value +.4%
Worst Performing Style
  • Small-Cap Growth -.9%
Leading Sectors
  • Paper +2.4%
  • Retail +2.3%
  • Gold & Silver +1.9%
  • Defense +1.8%
  • REITs +1.8%
Lagging Sectors
  • Shipping -2.6% 
  • Internet -2.8%
  • Semis -3.0%
  • Disk Drives -3.0%
  • Social Media -3.1%
Weekly High-Volume Stock Gainers (11)
  • FINL, LE, GES, RH, USG, HOME, RSPP, SHPG, MGPI, LHO and SGH
Weekly High-Volume Stock Losers (12)
  • RHT, MIK, SCOR, ANAB, CXO, FDS, BDC, EVR, BHVN, ABBV, MLHR and MGNX
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