SPI Futures traded in yet another relatively normal 61 point range last night, with a high of 5584, low of 5523, and a close this morning of 5537, down 7 points, on low volume of 8,001 contracts. Gaps from last night are up at the top of the range at 5584, 5576, 5543, and down at 5533, then 5505 from a previous day which one would 'think' would fill today.
More US-China tensions, and trade deal worries, with the White House releasing a report criticizing China's economic and military policies, with Trump accusing China of a 'disinformation and propaganda attack' on the US and Europe, and plans to introduce legislation to sanction China over national security laws in Hong Kong- yes traders, remember those protests ? It seems so long ago, as does the trade 'deal', or should I say ordeal ?. On the economic data front, existing home sales fell 17.8 pct m/m in April, and another 2.44 million Americans (about equal to the population of the city of Houston, Texas), filed for initial unemployment benefits last week, bringing the total number of people who have lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic to almost 40 million (38.636 million). The numbers may well be higher, as State labor departments have been working since the beginning of the pandemic to clear their backlogs of jobless claims, after the surge in unemployment numbers crashed systems not prepared for such high volume. The current unemployment rate of 14.7 percent is the worst since the height of the Great Depression, when it hit 24.9 percent. Continuing claims (the number of people who are still filing for ongoing weekly benefits), is now at an all time high of 25 million people, having hit a record 22.8 million for the week ending May 2. Not surprisingly, there are a high number of retail companies filing for bankruptcy, due to falling consumer demand, reduced spending, and stay-at-home orders mandating certain businesses stay closed. DOW down .41 pct, SNP down .78 pct and Canada (resource driven) down .75 pct. VIX up 5.50 pct to 29.53, a tad under the 30 level. Have a nice Friday, the anything can happen day.
Today in 2018, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) announced Stacey Cunningham would be its first woman head in its 226-year history. Way to go Stacey. The NYSE will re-open their trading floor to a subset of floor brokers the day after Memorial Day, May 26th.
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