Weekly Market Recap – March 8th, 2019

In the Markets

U.S. equities finished lower across the board with a batch of bearish news from around the globe. The U.S. employment report for February revealed weak job growth, with just 20,000 net jobs added, as wages rose at their fasted pace in a decade. Shrinking global growth was again part of the central narrative, with Chinese exports dropping 20.7% in February. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi took a dovish approach in a speech on Thursday, announcing a new series of Eurozone stimulus loans. The ECB also cut its growth forecast from 1.7% to 1.1%, joining China in lowering GDP predictions.

Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors dropped, with the index finishing the week down 2.2%. The Dow Jones joined the S&P, also falling 2.2% on the week, while the NASDAQ fell 2.5%. The mercurial start to 2019 for U.S. equities paused with five consecutive days of losses, as global trade tensions remain. U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad revealed that a date has yet to be set for the U.S. China summit. Neither side feels an agreement is imminent, as the two economic superpowers continue their negotiations.

Crude oil futures posted modest gains, with WTI gaining 0.48% and Brent rising 1.25%. Gasoline advanced at a quicker pace of 4.13%, resulting in the gasoline/crack spread gaining 16.89%. Heating oil did not follow suit, falling a slight 0.06%. Natural Gas futures fell 3.27% on the week after a recent string of gains.

A bearish WASDE report was echoed with losses in soybeans, corn, and wheat. Soybeans fell 1.73%, corn dropped 2.35%, and wheat lost 3.88%. Softs also finished down on the week. Cotton and cocoa lost just 0.49% and 0.86% respectfully, while coffee dropped 1.7%. Sugar was the weakest performer in the sector, falling 3.49%.

After last week’s volatility, gold and silver stabilized, going almost flat on

the week, while platinum dropped significantly, down 5.43%.

World Cup Trading Championships

The top competitors finished the week incredibly close to one another. First and second place were only separated by 0.2%, as Eduardo Ramos finished with a net return of 48.5% followed by Fabien Fischer’s net return of 48.3%. Third place Holger Groechel of Germany was just 2% behind these two, closing Friday at 46.1%. Jonathan Brum da Silva finished the week in fourth with a net return of 36%, followed by Princely Mathew who was within 1% of Jonathan at a net return of 35.1%.

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.