Ken Griffin…testing his lastest S&P algorithm…
Stocks traded higher in New York today. Oil and gold were lower. One minor piece of survey data, Empire Manufacturing, was expected at -0.6 and came in at -0.16.
Apart from some fireworks on the 6 PM Sunday opening, there was scant weekend news from the Middle East. WTI ripped +$4.50 higher in milliseconds, probably a buy stop getting elected, and by 6:03 PM, oil prices were already $2 off their highs. From that moment on, oil went down for the next 22 hours.
Around mid-morning, the WSJ was reporting hearsay that Iran was ready to restart negotiations if Israel would cease bombing Tehran. Oil fell hard, making lows for the session, down $8.00 from the Sunday opening high. As reports continued to develop, oil held its lows, and buying came in. Later in the session, new reports from Iran indicated they planned to accelerate their bombing tonight. Oil and gold were unresponsive this time and both closed weak.
I have a hunch the Middle East is wolf-calling the oil market and using hearsay sources to do it.
In the Markets
The spot dollar index spent a third session under 0.98, compressed in a tight range where it’s expected to stay until Wednesday afternoon. However no action is expected from the FOMC.
September futures are top step in S&Ps today, but I’m going to track June OI and prices at 6,000 until expiry on Friday. There is a hefty position at that level, and it looks like Wall Street is going to pin it.
Friday’s low is 5,927. If we’re under that on Wednesday, it could be a bad day. If you’re long, any close above 6,100 is a blue sky settlement.
Gold and platinum might as well be beans and bellies, silver and copper share a kinship, oil is gas lit, and bitcoin looks ready… and the House takes up gold n the vibe.
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