Weekly Market Recap – January 10th, 2020

In the Markets

The first full trading week of 2020 saw U.S. equities beginning the decade reaching new all-time highs. The S&P 500 grew 0.9%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7%, while the NASDAQ led the way advancing 1.8%. These gains occurred in spite of the developments in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.

To begin the week, Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at US bases in Iraq. There were no American casualties. Additionally, a Boeing plane crashed shortly after takeoff in Tehran, which Iran acknowledged was mistakenly shot down. Finally, the December employment report was released, reporting 145,000 nonfarm payroll positions added in the final month of 2019, down from recent months.

Crude oil products rose to start the week following the Iranian strike on U.S. forces. The rest of the week however, saw petroleum products fall back down as the U.S. did not appear to begin any military action. On the week, WTI crude lost 6.36%, and Brent Crude fell 5.28%. Gasoline dropped 5.1% as heating oil lost 6.45%. Natural gas managed a turnaround, climbing 3.38%.

Precious metals did not move in unison. Gold managed a 0.5% increase, while both silver and platinum both posted marginal losses, down 0.25% and 0.43% respectively. Palladium broke from this trend of minor moves, gaining 5.94%.
Agricultural commodities also closed the week with radically different performances. Soybeans gained 1.75%, mirrored by wheat’s 1.64% gain, while corn dropped 0.19%. The market’s morning coffee was incredibly saccharine on the week, as coffee dropped 5.87% but sugar gained 5.71%. Milk also posted gains, up 0.59%, while lean hogs lost 1.9%.

Precious metals did not move in unison. Gold managed a 0.5% increase, while both silver and platinum both posted marginal losses, down 0.25% and 0.43% respectively. Palladium broke from this trend of minor moves, gaining 5.94%.

Agricultural commodities also closed the week with radically different performances. Soybeans gained 1.75%, mirrored by wheat’s 1.64% gain, while corn dropped 0.19%. The market’s morning coffee was incredibly saccharine on the week, as coffee dropped 5.87% but sugar gained 5.71%. Milk also posted gains, up 0.59%, while lean hogs lost 1.9%.

World Cup Trading Championships

Jan Smolen finished the week in first place in the Global Cup again, closing with a net return of 162.2%. Fang Wang, from China, took second place with a net return of 129.9%, followed closely by Wayne Wan’s 126.4% net return. Maxim Schulz took fourth place at 109.2%, and Archie Ma rounded out the top five at a net return of 89.2%.
 

Trading futures and forex involves significant risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. World Cup Championship (WCC ) accounts do not necessarily represent all the trading accounts controlled by a given competitor. WCC competitors may control accounts that produce results substantially different than the results achieved in their WCC accounts. WCC entrants may trade more than one account in the competition. CME Group is the trademark of CME Group, Inc. The Globe logo is a trademark of Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Inc.