Author: The INO.com Team

Crude oil just posted its best month ever after suffering its worst month ever, not that long ago. Crude oil in the July contract posted a monthly gain of +57%! Yes, you read that right, +57%, pushing the price of oil above $35 a barrel. It wasn't all that long ago that many traders learned that oil and futures could indeed trade in negative territory. Quite a turnaround, but will it continue?

As for stocks, the major indexes ended the week mixed on a daily level after President Donald Trump signaled no changes to the trade deal with China despite rising tensions in his Friday afternoon press conference form the White House rose garden. But on a weekly level, all three indexes posted weekly gains. The S&P 500 gained +3%, the DOW +3.7%, and the NASDAQ had a weekly increase of +1.7%.

As for May, all three indexes had gained Continue reading "Crude Oil Has Best Month EVER" →

The US-China trade tension has once again peaked its head out and put pressure on an already skittish market. Earlier in the week, the Senate passed a bill that would make it more difficult for Chinese companies to list on US stock exchanges. That in itself wasn't enough to curb the weekly rally for the major indexes that will see the DOW, S&P 500, and NASDAQ post weekly gains of +2.8% or better, bouncing back from last weeks losses.

On a daily level, the market will end the week on weak trading heading into the long holiday weekend. Part of the muted market action today is due to China releasing drafted legislation overnight that shows new national security measures in Hong Kong after last year's burst of anti-government protests in the city. That law is expected to increase Beijing's hold over Hong Kong. China also opted against setting a GDP target for 2020 as the coronavirus batters the second-largest economy in the world. Continue reading "US-China Trade Tension Mutes Market" →

Stocks are looking to end the week lower after a dismal retail sales number was released Friday morning. Retail sales plummeted a record -16.4% in April, which was much worse than the -12% plunge expected by economists. March retail sales were revised to a decline of -8.4% from the previously reported -8.7% decrease. Core retail sales, excluding the volatile auto and gas components, tumbled -16.2%, following a decline of -2.8% in the prior month. Economists were predicting a -7.6% drop in core retail sales for the month.

Within core components, consumer spending online rose +8.4% and fell -13.2% at grocery stores in April. Retail sales at department stores sank -28.9%, furniture stores saw a -58.7% drop in spending, sporting goods sales fell -38%, sales at electronics stores tumbled -60.6%, and spending at clothing retailers plummeted the most at -78.8%. Continue reading "Retail Sales Plummet Pressuring Market" →

Even with the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression the stock market continues to claw it's way higher. Is the worst behind us?

The Labor Department released its jobs report Friday morning, showing that a record 20.5 million jobs were lost In April and that the unemployment rate jumped to 14.7% from just 4.4%. However, those levels were lower than what was expected by most economists who were expecting a loss of 21.5 million jobs and an unemployment rate of 16%.

That marks the highest unemployment rate since the US Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking the monthly data in 1948, and it's on par with levels of joblessness not seen since the Great Depression in the 1930s, for which the BLS has compiled annual estimates.

But the stock market seems to take solace in the fact that most of these layoffs are seen as temporary and that moving forward, most of the out of work people will resume their jobs as the economy reopens. With the recent market action in mind, is the worst behind us? Continue reading "Is The Worst Behind Us?" →