Stocks Rise On Strong Earnings

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Hello traders everywhere. Both the DOW and the S&P 500 have hit new intra-day highs and are looking to close out the week at record highs. This latest move higher has been driven by a weaker U.S. Dollar and a strong earnings season so far.

This week has seen some overall market volatility, but a strong finish today will put the three main indexes on track for their best four-week rally since 2016.

Stocks Rise Strong Earnings

The latest saga in the Bitcoin/cryptocurrency space continues to be a lack of regulation. One of Japan's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Coincheck, said that about $400 million in NEM tokens were lost after the coins were sent "illicitly" outside the venue, spooking investors in a country that's still wary of digital-token exchanges four years after the collapse of Mt. Gox.

Cryptocurrency exchanges, many of which operate with little to no regulation, have suffered a series of outages and hacks amid the trading boom that propelled Bitcoin and its peers to record highs last year. What lasting effect will these continued hacks and outages have on the cryptocurrency space moving forward?

Key levels to watch next week: Continue reading "Stocks Rise On Strong Earnings" →

Global Oil Stocks to Build in 2018

Posted on by Robert Boslego

Robert Boslego - INO.com Contributor - Energies


OPEC released its Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) for January, and its projections for 2018 imply a 29 million barrel global stock build, in contrast to 140 million barrel draw it estimated for 2017. As a result, it will not clear the glut, which OPEC estimates to be at 133 million barrels, at the end of November, based on the “latest five-year average.”

In 2017, OPEC production averaged about 32.5 million barrels per day (mbd), adjusting for the change in OPEC membership (i.e., with Indonesia’s 740,000 b/d).

global oil inventory 2017

In 2018, I have assumed OPEC production averages 33.2 mmbd, which is OPEC’s forecast (December) of its 2018 production. However, OPEC production averaged 32.416 mmbd in December.

global oil inventory 2018

OPEC projections imply that global stocks will build much more quickly in the first half of 2018 than they did during the same period in 2017. And the stock draws in the second half of 2018 are expected to be smaller than they were in 2017. Continue reading "Global Oil Stocks to Build in 2018" →

U.S. Dollar Hits New Lows

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Hello traders everywhere. The U.S. dollar hit new lows on Wednesday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made comments at the Global Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, saying that he welcomed its weakness.

MarketClub's Mid-day Market Report

Fear of protectionism from the U.S. economy had already pushed the dollar to a three-year low, but Mnuchin's comments added to the pressure that's been pushing it down for the year, with the effects rippling across markets as growth in European and emerging-nation economies continues to accelerate past America.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive and speak at the conference Thursday, and many investors fear that he and his team will continue to talk about a trade war and signal a more protectionist policy stance.

Key levels to watch this week: Continue reading "U.S. Dollar Hits New Lows" →

Did You Own Any Of The Worst ETFs of 2017

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


2017 was a good year for investors as the S&P 500 increased 19.42%, but unfortunately, not all investors saw their investments grow in value during the year. Investors who had purchased some different Exchange Traded Funds saw their investments nearly disappear during what will be referred to as an “up” year for investors and the stock market.

What is not surprising though is that seven of the nine most prominent ETF losers of 2017 had something to do with investing in the Volatility Index. The worst performer was the ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (UVXY), falling 93.96%. This fund provides 2X exposure to short-term, first and second month, VIX futures. The UVXY is a fund essentially will offer investors a way to make money if the VIX itself increases. Furthermore, because this fund is leveraged 2X, if the VIX increases by 10%, UVXY investors will make 20%. But, due to the fund's exposure, it has high carrying costs, meaning investors who hold the fund for more than one day will lose money due to those roll costs.

Therefore, the UVXY needs both the market to be volatile regularly for investors to make any money, even over a small period of time. In 2018 its unlikely UVXY will lose as much as it did in 2017 because the end of 2016 was highly volatile following the election of President Trump. Continue reading "Did You Own Any Of The Worst ETFs of 2017" →

Stocks Erase Early Losses After Senate Vote

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Hello traders everywhere. Stocks are trading higher after erasing slight losses from earlier in the session, as the Senate reached a deal that would resume full government operations.

The S&P 500 is hitting record highs, rising 0.5%, with energy and telecommunications as the best-performing sectors.

The NASDAQ is also hitting all-time highs, advancing 0.7%, with shares of Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) hitting a record ahead of their earnings today.

The Dow has gained over 70 points to establish a new intra-day record, with The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) leading the way.

MarketClub's Mid-day Market Report

Members of the Senate are expected to advance a stopgap bill to keep the government open through Feb. 8. Democratic Sen. Mark Warner said the party has the assurance it needs on the budget and immigration issues.

On Saturday, the U.S. government shut down after a bill that would have kept the government funded through mid-February was voted against in the Senate. The shutdown continued for a third day on Monday after the Senate on Sunday failed to reach an agreement to break an impasse before the work week began in Washington.

Key levels to watch this week: Continue reading "Stocks Erase Early Losses After Senate Vote" →