Weekly Market Recap – July 10, 2020

In the Markets

Thursday\\\’s labor department figures stated that 1.4 million Americans applied for unemployment insurance for the first time last week and more than 19 million people are still receiving unemployment benefits. The Federal Reserve reported Wednesday that consumer borrowing declined by $18.3 billion in May, a drop of 5.3%. Borrowing had fallen 4.5% in March and then plunged 20.1% in April. That was the biggest one-month decline in percentage terms since the end of World War II. On Friday, another statement by the Fed reported it had purchased $1.3 billion in corporate bonds in late June. The program is intended to keep U.S. interest rates low. The Fed has also purchased nearly $8 billion in pools of bonds held in ETFs. New daily records in coronavirus cases have spiked in several states. Eight states set single-day coronavirus death records this week: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Tennessee.

Stocks maintained firmness during the week. The DJIA rose 247.94 (+1.0%), registering 26,075.30 as its Friday close; there was a 55.03 increase for the S&P 500 (+1.8%) closing at 3,185.04. NASDAQ’s composite index staged a 450.41 up move to 10,617.44 (+4.0%) as it continues making new record highs. The Russell 2000 weakened very slightly with a 4.22 decrease to 113.84 (-0.7%). Volatility in equities has eased a bit more as CBOE’s VIX ended at 27.29 for a 7.05 retreat of 1.4%. In the currency market, the dollar weakened, as the spot US Dollar Index ended at its lowest weekly close (96.65) since March 66th (96.09).

In commodities, the general trend remains up, according to S&P\\\’s GSCI, which settled at 337.9 (+1.5%) having risen 5.05 from the prior week. Metals are rising across the board. CME copper added 5.4%, closing at $2.8975/lb., its highest of the year. The coronavirus spreading in Chile, the world’s leading copper-producing nation, has been slowing mine activity for months. LME three-month aluminum gained 4.6%, ending the week at $1,688.50 per metric ton, the highest it has been since March 10th. In the precious sector, investors continue to acquire bullion. Front-month futures for gold, silver, platinum and palladium all moved on the plus side: gold rose by $11.90 (+0.7%) to $1,801.90, silver increased by 17¢, to $19.053 (+4.0%), platinum gained $14.30 (+1.7%) to $845.90 and palladium firmed by $66.80 (+3.5%) to $1,994.40 per troy ounce.

On the charts, the petroleum complex is maintaining its upward trend, although the slope appears to be somewhat lessened. CME crude oil prices booked a slight decrease as August WTI ended Friday’s session at $40.55, which was down only a dime (-0.2%). On the other hand, ICE Brent for September squeaked 10¢ higher (+0.2%) to settle at $43.24 per barrel. Refined products inched up, as well. One gallon of August heating oil gained a penny to close at $1.2412 (+0.8%), while RBOB gasoline gained 2.39¢ cents, settling at $1.12831 (+1.9%). August natural gas, two weeks after hitting contract lows on two consecutive days, is 30¢ higher than those lows. Friday\\\’s $1.805 settlement was up 7.1¢ per MMBtu (+4.1%).
Wheat was the star percentage performer of the week in the agricultural commodity sector. CBT wheat for September delivery rallied 8.5% with a 34¢ move to $5.34 per bushel. December corn declined 9¾¢ (-2.8%) to $3.43¾
as it corrected its rally from contract lows two Fridays ago. November soybeans had a 6¢ decrease (-0.7%) to an $8.90¾ settlement price. Soft commodities were mostly lower as the ICE’s coffee contract fell 6.3% to $0.9665/lb., sugar slipped 3.9% to its 11.78¢/lb. close, and cocoa eased $19 (-0.9%), settling at $2,160 per metric ton. Cotton futures improved by 2.2%, as the December contract closed at 64.31¢ per pound. Dairy farmers are still having a bull market in milk futures. The weekly price increase was 1.47 (+7.8%) to 20.28¢ in the September milk. As has been the case for months, pandemic economics are driving the new normal in the livestock and meatpacking industries. Cattle rose 0.6%, while hogs firmed 1.4%, closing at $1.000 and $0.49875 per pound, respectively.

World Cup Trading Championships®

In Futures, Michael O’Keeffe has held the top position, based on the end of week standings, for the 13th week in a row with a 542.7% net return. Orhan Özcan held the 2nd spot with a net return of 281.9%. Yuwen Cao maintained 3rd with a net return of 209.4%. Tim Hall and Stefan Seibert rounded out the top 5 with net returns of 207.6% and 189.5% respectively.

In the Forex division, Raul Glavan held first at 111.5%, with Jan Smolen finishing the week in 2nd with a net return of 72.1%, followed by Robert Miner at 68.7% net. Scott Welsh and Tom Dante rounded out the top 5 with net returns of 65.4% and 45.2% respectively.

(Through May 29 – Final Results Pending Audit) The Top 5 Global Cup Finalists are Stefan Seibert in 1st at 210.7% net, Michael Cook in 2nd at 171.7% net, Maxim Schulz in 3rd at 156.2%, Robert Miner in 4th at 134.4%, and Wayne Wan in 5th at 113.2% net.

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. CME Group is the trademark of CME Group, Inc. The Globe logo is a trademark of Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Inc.