After opening the day lower, Indian benchmark indices tanked further but recovered as the session progressed, eventually closing more than 400 points down.Benchmark equity indices lost their 3-day winning streak to end the week’s last trading session in negative territory.At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex closed lower by 423 points (down 0.6%).Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed 109 points lower (down 0.5%).Reliance Industries, BPCL and Nestle are among the top gainers today.Infosys, Axis Bank and M&M on the other hand, were among the top losers today.The GIFT Nifty was trading at 23,237, down by 151 points at the time of writing.The BSE MidCap index and BSE SmallCap index ended flat.Sectoral indices were trading mixed on Wednesday with stocks in the realty sector and the metal sector witnessing buying. Meanwhile, the stocks in the finance sector and IT sector witnessing selling pressure.The rupee is trading at 86.6 against the US$.Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 0.5% lower at Rs 78,810 per 10 grams.Meanwhile, silver prices were trading 1.2% lower at Rs 91,680 per 1 kg.  Why Chemical Stocks are RisingIn news from the chemical sector, shares of fertiliser and chemical stocks saw a significant surge on 17 January, with some rising nearly 10%, driven by a sharp increase in soda ash prices.Gujarat Heavy Chemicals’ stock saw a 7% jump, while Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers, and Fertilisers And Chemicals Travancore saw their shares skyrocket by up to 9%.Soda ash, a critical raw material used in industries like glass, detergents, and chemicals, plays a key role in driving the […]

CottonGeneral Comments: Cotton was lower yesterday and made new contract lows despite strong weekly export sales. The US Dollar has been strong and Crude Oil futures have been weaker. Selling has come from news that Trump will impose some big tariffs on China, but the tariffs posted were not as high as he had threatened before during the campaign. China has big problems with its domestic economy with consumer buying interest not strong and many people not working. The government has said it will take stimulus measures for the economy there next year. There are still reports of weaker demand potential against an outlook for good US production in the coming year. Overnight News: Chart Trends: Trends in Cotton are down. Support is at 66.20, 65.60, and 65.00 March, with resistance of 69.40, 69.90 and 70.40 March. FCOJGeneral Comments: FCOJ closed lower yesterday as another cold front is expected in the east early next week, but should not harm crops in Florida. Chart trends are turning down on the daily charts. The short term supply scenario remains very tight as USDA maintained its Florida production estimate at 12 million boxes and estimated US production at 60.3 million boxes from 60.6 million in its previous estimate. The lack of lower production goes against ideas of declining demand and even if demand is holding well. The market remains well supported in the longer term based on forecasts for tight supplies in Florida. The reduced production appears to be mostly at the expense of […]

Are you going to get blasted? As America gets ready to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and the inauguration of President J, Trump, most of America will get blasted! Of course I mean the potential for a dangerous arctic blast that is already driving the energy markets as they try to assess the risks of what will most likely be record breaking demand for heating fuels and also the potential risks of weather-related shortages.How cold will it be and will it impact you? Fox Weather says that, ‘There’s no escaping this’. The FOX Forecast Center said temperatures will plummet as much as 45 degrees below average in spots, leading to below-zero temperatures across at least 20 states, from the Plains to the Great Lakes and interior Northeast. The potentially life-threatening cold is due to a disrupted polar vortex. The FOX Forecast Center said a lobe of the polar vortex will dip to the south and move into the U.S. this weekend and into next week. “These are the types of weather systems that even bring cold air to Florida,” Merwin said. “You know, there’s only maybe one or two times a year where we get a chunk of arctic air that really invades the country and gets all the way down to the Gulf Coast. This is one of those. So, if you’re a snowbird, you like to escape down to the South – there’s no escaping this. Everyone will feel it.”Everyone will also feel the pain of higher heating […]

The AUD/USD pair falls sharply to near 0.6180 in Friday’s North American session. The Aussie pair slumps as the US Dollar (USD) gains ground after a three-day losing streak. The US  (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, rises to near 109.20.The Greenback gains as the  is cautious ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony on Monday. Market participants expect Trump will release updated tariff plan sooner after joining the White House, a scenario that would lead to a global trade war. The impact will be favorable for growth and inflationary pressures in the United States (US), which would force the  (Fed) to keep interest rates at their current levels for a longer period.Earlier, the US Dollar faced selling pressure after the release of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for December, which showed that the core inflation decelerated to 3.2%, against estimates and the prior release of 3.3%. This led to a slight acceleration in Fed dovish bets.According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders are pricing in more than one 25-bps interest rate reduction this year, seeing the first coming in the June meeting.Meanwhile, the Australian Dollar (AUD) weakens despite China’s Q4  (GDP) data came in stronger than expected. Compared to same quarter of the previous year, the Chinese economy expanded by 5.4%, faster than estimates of 5% and the reading of 4.6% recorded in the previous quarter.Historically, the Australian Dollar gets benefitted by China’s upbeat economic data, being a close trading partner to China.USD/CAD Jumps To Near 1.4430 […]

Image Source:   Stocks and gold have been “predictable” as we approach Inauguration Day“Predictable” taking the form of our previous “to or through the election” view for the 2024 bull, which was ginned by the Biden administration through fiscal means, and aided when the Fed went dovish at an important pre-election juncture last year.Now, with Trump’s Inauguration day nearly upon us, it is time to evaluate the next phase, which was a contrarian play where now that at least half the country thinks America is “great again” or on its way to relative greatness again, the stock market and gold may prepare to take opposite sides of that trade after 2024’s general correlation between the two.Stocks and gold have generally trended up together as the precious metals led much of the 2024 rally (before the October correction began in the precious metals, leading a potential short-term topping situation in the S&P 500). Let’s look closer at stocks and gold.  US Stock MarketA simple technical overview of SPX using a daily chart. In the least surprising move of the week, SPX recovered the neckline of a small bearish pattern after dropping below and temporarily activating the pattern. However, as long as SPX remains below the previous short-term high (6021), the bear case is still in play (a bear case that has been expected to come forward sooner or later as a “contrarian” reaction to the economic positivity that half the country felt when Trump was elected).SPX, along with other indexes, got a […]