Weekly Market Recap – December 31st, 2018
In the Markets
Despite the shortened holiday week, a historically uneventful week in trading, was peppered with volatility in equity markets. The week began with all three major indices posting substantial losses, as the Dow recorded its worst Christmas Eve ever, and the S&P 500 fell to 20% below its peak. As the market entered oversold conditions, combined with positive consumer spending reports for holiday shopping, the three indices rebounded into positive territory for the week. The Dow finished the 28th up 2.7% on the week, the S&P climbed 2.9%, and the NASDAQ finished Friday up 4% on the week.
The rebound was not enough to clear the year to date losses, however, as the Dow lost 6.7% on the year, while the S&P lost 7% year to date, and the NASDAQ ended the week down 4.6% on the year.
Oil futures followed a similar trend, plummeting on the 24th, before rebounding after the holiday break. Neither Brent nor WTI crude were able to enter positive territory on the week, however, with WTI falling 0.57% and Brent dropping 1.46%. Gasoline futures fell 0.36%, while heating oil posted a steeper loss, down 3.74% on the week. Natural Gas fell significantly, losing 9.13% on the week.
Gold and silver both posted gains, with gold up 1.98% and silver gaining 4.99%. Platinum fell, down 0.78% on the week.
Softs saw a variety of results. Sugar and coffee rose slightly, up 0.41% and 1.25% respectively, while cocoa finished strong up 6.03%. Cotton fell, down 1.35%. Corn fell 0.79%, wheat lost 0.49%, and soybeans finished almost even, down 0.08%.
World Cup Trading Championships
Petra concluded December 31st atop the leaderboard, ending the year with a net return of 257.9%. Paul Skarp returned to the top 5, vaulting all the way back into second place with a net return of 65.2%. Fabien Fischer followed in 3rd with a net return of 62.5%, followed closely by Adrian Koemel in 4th at 58.5%. The top 5 was wrapped up by Ryan Alderson, who finished the 31st with a net return of 57.9%.
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.