Weekly Market Recap – March 15th, 2019

In the Markets

U.S. equities rebounded from the losses of the prior week. The NASDAQ led the charge with a 3.9% gain, followed by the S&P 500’s 2.9% gain and the Dow Jones’ 1.6% climb. Fed Chair Jerome Powell continued to tout the Fed\\\’s patient stance on 60 minutes, part of a global accommodative stance by central banks. The Chinese government joined the Fed’s dovish sentiments, voicing plans to continue supporting their slowing economy. Meanwhile in Europe, the U.K. voted to extend the Brexit deadline.

The 2-yr treasury yield finished flat at 2.44%, while the 10-yr fell to 2.59%. These near lows for the year combined with a weaker USD, and with the U.S. Dollar Index down 0.8%, was viewed by investors as a boon for equities.

Crude oil made stronger gains this week, extending its bullish streak as WTI futures climbed 4.37% and Brent futures rose 2.16%. OPEC agreed to further oil production cuts, but disagree on whether to keep those cuts in place through the end of the year. Gasoline also posted gains, up 3.11%, while heating oil dropped 1.61% as winter in the northern hemisphere begins its departure. Natural Gas fell for the second straight week, down 2.44%.

Gold pushed slightly higher, up 0.27%, while silver finished almost flat on the week. Platinum was the best performer in precious metals, up 1.58% on the week. Grain commodities posted gains, with corn up 5.21% and wheat climbing 4.95%. Soybeans also rose, albeit at a lessor pace, up just 1.59% on the week.

Lean Hogs posted a strong performance, up 13.62%, marking a 21% clip over the last two weeks.

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.