Market Commentary 13 Jan

HIGHLIGHTS

The US stock market broke the resistance to create new highs above 29,000 mark but only to slide back down to 28,824.

The reason for this was jobless report came out at with only 145K jobs created versus 160K expected for the month of December, but employment rate held steady at 3.5% and wages also moderated at a slower-than-expected pace. This report softens growth expectations on the US stock market. This week, the shift in focus will be on the US-China trade deal as both countries are set to sign “Phase One” agreement. US earnings season starts this week as well.

Dow Jones Chart

DOW -        up  1.0 %  YTD

S&P –          up  1.1 %   YTD

NASDAQ –  up  2.3 %  YTD

HEADS UP

• CNY New Yuan Loans (Dec)
• USD Consumer Price Index (Dec)
• EUR German GDP (2019)
• GBP Consumer Price Index (Dec)
• USD Retail Sales Advance (Dec)
• CNY Gross Dom Product (4Q)
• EUR Euro-Zone CPI (Dec)
• USD U of Michigan Sentiment (Jan)

DAILY FEEDS

GOLD:

When Iran fired a barrage of missiles targeting US bases in Iraq, gold broke above the $1600 mark for the first time in 6 years’ time. But when tensions started to ease without any retaliation from the US this metal had a selloff and dropped $50 getting below the $1550 level last Friday. But the US jobs report was supportive and prop up the gold price to $1560.

Gold Chart

EUR:

Just like most currencies last Friday, Euro rallied after the US Employment Report announcement. The 1.12 handle is proving to be a strong resistance while 1.10 is the designated support.

AUD:
AUD surged to the upside after the US jobs report disappointed with the weaker-than-expected number. But bush fires in Australia will temper the upside of AUD due to the negative effect on the Australian economy. AUD rallied from 0.6850 to 0.6910.

Author: Ricardo Garrido-Senior Account Advisor of RockGlobal