Stocks Surged Higher To End The Week

Hello traders everywhere. Stocks surged higher Friday on increasing hopes for a U.S.- China trade deal. The Dow and Nasdaq are both on pace to post their eighth consecutive weekly gain. The S&P 500, meanwhile, was on track for its seventh weekly gain in eight. The indexes are all up more than 2% entering Friday's afternoon trading session. They check in with gains of +2.5%, +2.1%, and 2% respectively.

Stocks Surged Higher

Chinese President Xi Jinping said trade talks between the U.S. and China will continue next week in Washington. This comes after a U.S. trade delegation led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was in Beijing this week.

China and the U.S. are trying to strike a trade deal before an early March deadline. If a deal is not reached by then, additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods could take effect. President Donald Trump, however, is considering pushing back the deadline by 60 days to give negotiators more time to come up with a deal.

Key Levels To Watch Next Week:

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Optimism Propels Stock Market Higher

Hello traders everywhere. Groundhog day, that's what it feels like right now as traders continue to follow news about the U.S. - China trade talks. On Tuesday President Donald Trump suggested that he might be open to postponing the current deadline of early March so that both sides can reach a deal. Failure to achieve an agreement would spark higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.

The South China Morning Post reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with U.S. delegates on Friday as both sides try to strike a deal, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

The Dow is up about 135 points as Goldman Sachs (GS) and Visa (V) outperformed. The S&P 500 gained 0.45%, led by gains in tech and consumer discretionary. The Nasdaq advanced 0.5% as Amazon (AMZN) shares climbed .50% at the open.

Optimism

The stock market is also getting a boost from news that a tentative deal on a new budget that could prevent another government shutdown which also includes border security funding. President Trump said Tuesday he is not happy with this proposal but added he will be studying its details.

Key Levels To Watch This Week:

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Weekly Losses In Sight For Stock Market

Hello traders everywhere. The three major indexes are set up to post losses for the third straight day to end the week. In fact, if the trend holds true through the close the S&P 500, DOW and NASDAQ will all post weekly losses. That would be the first weekly loss in seven weeks for the DOW and NASDAQ and it will be the second time in three weeks that the S&P 500 ended in negative territory.

Recent weakness has been brought about by skepticism over the United States and China reaching a trade deal before a looming deadline which has added to investor's nerves over slowing global growth.

Weekly Losses

The U.S. Dollar is on track for its best week in over six months posting a +1% gain on the week. This will be the biggest weekly increase since a 1.28% jump in the week of Aug. 10, 2018. This spike higher was brought on as investors flocked to the safe haven amid worries about a weakening global economy. Continue reading "Weekly Losses In Sight For Stock Market"

Booming Jobs Report Kicks Off February

Hello traders everywhere. The U.S. economy added 304,000 jobs in January, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The market was anticipating the U.S. economy to have added 170,000 jobs in January. The report follows a 35-day U.S. government shutdown, the longest in history. It also marks the 100th straight month of jobs growth. But the reaction by Wall Street was muted with the S&P 500 and NASDAQ trading in negative territory on the day. However, the DOW was hanging on to positive gains heading into late afternoon trading.

We closed out January on a high note with all three major indexes posting monthly gains over 7%. The S&P 500 checked in with an increase of +7.8%, DOW +7.1%, and the big winner was the NASDAQ with a gain of +9.7%. All three indexed posted weekly gains after posting losses last week.

Booming Jobs Report

The U.S. Dollar lost -.45% for January and also lost -.27% for the week closing out a tough January for the greenback.

After a tough end of the year, crude oil bounced back with a weekly gain of +3.36% to finish out the month strong and to push it's monthly gain to +16.40%, a truly impressive comeback after losing over -9% in December.

Gold's performance wasn't quite as good the overall market on a monthly level posting a gain of +2.58%, but it was in line with the major indexes on a weekly level posting an increase of +1.12% at the end of the week.

Bitcoin suffered its sixth straight month of losses losing -7.9% in January. That happens to be a new record for Bitcoin. It also lost another -3.1% on the week. I don't see much light at the end of the tunnel for Bitcoin. Is it dying a slow death or will it make a comeback?

Key Levels To Watch Next Week:

Every Success,
Jeremy Lutz
INO.com and MarketClub.com

Wall Street Surges Higher On Fed News And Earnings

Hello traders everywhere. Stocks were already performing well on the day with the DOW getting a large boost from the like of Apple and Boeing, but they received another boost after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and stated it will be patient with raising rates moving forward.

In a statement, the Federal Reserve said: "The Committee will be patient as it determines what future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate may be appropriate." The Fed added it expects to operate with "an ample supply" of bank reserves. The statement also dropped the word "gradual."

federal

Boeing shares jumped over 6% after its quarterly earnings easily beat expectations. The company also posted annual revenue of more than $100 billion for the first time and gave strong earnings guidance for 2019. Continue reading "Wall Street Surges Higher On Fed News And Earnings"