Weekly Market Recap – June 7th, 2019
In the Markets
Despite losses in FAANG stocks (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google) along with a weak May employment report, the S&P 500 posted its best week of 2019, gaining 4.4%. The Dow Jones posted a strong performance as well, up 4.7%, along with a 3.9% gain by the NASDAQ.
May only added 75,000 new jobs to the U.S. economy, well below 2018’s monthly average of 223,000, while average hourly pay increased only 6 cents. Market sentiment, however, pointed to expectations of an interest rate cut in July due to trade tensions and low inflation, with the U.S. Dollar Index down 1.2% on the week. Additionally, despite the meager employment report, unemployment remained at just 3.6%.
Crude oil began the week continuing its down trend, with WTI down 3.4% and Brent futures dropping 5.99% by Wednesday’s close. A second half week rally, however, had WTI futures finishing up 0.92% on the week, while Brent crude erased over half its decline, down 1.86% on the week. Gasoline posted a more substantial decline, falling 3.5%. Heating oil managed to only lose 0.92%, while natural gas fell 4.77% to its worst level since 2016.
Precious metals posted gains across the board. Silver led the sector with a 3.09% gain, followed by gold climbing 2.71%, and platinum’s rebound of 1.68% on the week. Platinum’s gains put it back above $800/t oz.
As the next WASDE report approaches its June 11 release, agricultural commodities posted a myriad of losses on the week. Soybeans and corn followed similar trajectories, down 2.59% and 2.63% respectively. Wheat dipped slightly, down just 0.32%, while both lean hogs and coffee declined off of recent gains. Lean hogs lost 3.76% on the week, and coffee dropped 3.49%. Sugar managed to outperform the sector, gaining 3.31% on the week.
World Cup Trading Championships
Durai Ramasamy maintained the substantial lead over the field, closing the week with a net return of 261.3%. Kurt Sakaeda remained in second place with his 133.3% net return, followed by Eduardo Ramos’s return to the top 5 with a 73.6% net return. Fabien Fischer also returned to the top 5, finishing in fourth at a 69.8% net return, followed closely by Sadanand Kalasabail’s 68.5% net return.
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.