evening wrap, june 23

market vibes

June 23…)

Oil was center stage in NY again today. Comments from Iran reminded me of Baghdad Bob, the Iraqi Information Minister during the 2003 Iraq War, who said, “There are no American infidels in Baghdad!” while tanks and US troops were rolling on camera right behind him.

The Iranian parliament declared the Strait of Hormuz was closed, but reports that ships were cruising through all day found their way to the market. The kill shot for the Ayatollah’s creds came from the Iranians themselves when they forewarned a missile attack on the Americans in Qatar, and the missiles were shot down handily somewhere in the desert.

WTI crashed 7%. Vols actually fell, and the call skew in August traded flat for ITMs on the lows circa $69.00. Spreads lost 40% of value in the front. Dec Red Dec settled at $2.78 Friday. Trading $0.94 as I write, down 67%. Beware of margin selling as Asia comes in…

In the markets

Gold made an uneven rally above $3,400. Silver opened firm and got firmer into the pit close. Stocks spent the session +/- 50 S&P handles in knee-jerking lurches and setteled on the highs. Bloomberg, Axios, and Reuters reported the war dutifully and the markets ignored their reports like a jury might ignore paid experts at a rigged trial. Is there a verdict? Let’s have a look…