Weekly Market Recap – November 29th, 2019
In the Markets
With market hours shorted by a day and a half for Thanksgiving week, investors had yet another bullish week in U.S. Equity markets to be thankful for. Through Wednesday, U.S. stocks had once again pushed towards new all-time highs, as the S&P gained 1.39% through the close of November 27th. Friday’s half-day saw a slight pullback, but the S&P 500 still netted a 1% gain on the week. The NASDAQ bested this performance with a 1.7% gain on the week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.6%. As markets enter the final month of 2019, the S&P 500 has managed a 25.3% year-to-date growth. If the year’s trading ended Friday, then 2019 would mark the 19th best single-year return since 1928, and its best percent gain since 2013.
The markets continue to derive positive sentiment from the general optimism surrounding US-China trade talks, as no new developments have rained out the possibility of a Phase 1 trade deal before January 1st. Other bullish news bolstering equity performance came in the form of fresh economic data, including a decrease in first-time unemployment benefit applications, as well as October marking the eighth straight month increase to consumer personal spending.
The narrative for crude oil markets was one of growth through Thanksgiving, however black Friday brought with it bad news for black gold. WTI futures had gained 0.59% and Brent futures had climbed 1.06%, however Friday marked a single day loss of 5.06% for WTI crude and a one-day 2.54% drop for Brent. On the week, WTI lost 4.5% and Brent futures fell 1.51%. Gasoline and heating oil also went negative on the week, losing 4.62% and 2.62% respectively. Natural gas fell significantly, losing 14.41% on the week.
Precious metals were all over the board. Gold rose a measly 0.15%, while silver dipped 0.24%. Platinum made a small climb, up 0.49%, while palladium towered over the rest of the sector, gaining 3.92% on the week. Copper’s performance was muted, moving up just 0.11% on the week.
As millions of Americans stayed home to eat turkey, agricultural commodities were mixed. Thanksgiving tables seemed soy-free as the bean dropped 2.15% on the week. Dinner rolls appeared in generous portions, however, as Wheat futures gained 5.46%, while corn moved up just 0.68%. As the beverage woke up many a chef to prepare the holiday festivities, coffee futures gained 3.45% on the week. Sugar also posted gains, up 0.86%, while milk futures finished flat.
World Cup Trading Championships
Sadanand Kalasabail entered the last month of competition in the lead over the 2019 World Cup Championship field with a net return of 244.1%. Ryan Alderson held onto second place with a net return of 179.8%, followed by Durai Ramasamy’s 139.6% net return. Fabien Fischer finished in fourth with a 125.1% net return, as Eduardo Ramos returned to the top five to round out the leaderboard with his 119.6% net return.
Wayne Wan bested Jan Smolen to close the shortened week, finishing 5% ahead at 183.3% net return. Jan Smolen ended Friday with a net return of 178.3%. Archie Ma posted a 107.2% net return, good enough for third place, followed closely by Maxim Schulz’s 103.6% net return. Stefan Seibert finished the week in fifth place in the Global Cup via a 90.8% 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.