Weekly Market Recap – March 1st, 2019

In the Markets

As February came to a close, the S&P 500 completed its best two month start to a year since 1987 with the index gaining 11.5%. The indices continued to climb into March, closing Friday with a YTD growth of 11.8%. The NASDAQ gained 0.9%, finishing the week with a 14.5% year to date growth, while the Dow Jones ended the week flat, up 11.6% on the year.

March 1st came and went with the U.S-China tariffs remaining on the sideline. The deadline was officially delayed as the negotiations continue. It was reported Friday that the U.S. and China are currently drafting a document outlining the provisions of the deal, with the potential of a mid-March signing. In other U.S. negotiation news, the two-day summit in Vietnam between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ended as the two were unable to reach an agreement on denuclearization.

Crude oil fell from its recent string of gains, with Brent falling 3.41% and WTI futures dropping 2.55%. Gasoline and heating oil futures fell at a slower rate, down 2.07% and 1.43% respectively. Natural Gas posted a strong week, adding to its recent bullish run with futures climbing 4.38% on the week.

Performance in precious metals displayed a wide range, with gold and silver futures posting significant losses. Gold fell 2.52% and silver plummeted 4.47%. Platinum and palladium on the other hand posted gains on the week. Platinum was up 2.1%, while palladium climbed 3.04%.

Agricultural commodities displayed weakness across the board. Soybeans fell 1.27%, corn dropped 3.05%, and wheat posted the weakest performance, down 6.68%. Softs also saw a myriad of losses, with cocoa falling 3.1%, and sugar dropping 5.11%. Coffee finished nearly flat, moving up 0.2%, while cotton managed muted gains, up 1.15%.

World Cup Trading Championships

Eduardo Ramos held on to the top spot again last week, closing Friday with a net return of 149.9%. Princely Mathew climbed to a net return of 76.8%, retaining second place. Fabien Fischer climbed into third place with a net return of 49.6%, followed closely by Marko Grcic at 44.3%. The top 5 was rounded out by Tze Chun Fung of Hong Kong, who joined the leaderboard with a net return of 35%.

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.