..Gold rose from a $2921 low to $2934 still -0.18% down but AUD dropped to 63.57c and that resulted in AUD Gold rising +0.49% to $4,615. GDX and GDXJ both plummeted by -3.36% and 4%, twice as large a fall as the S&P500. This is what I've been telling you, that on adverse days, AUD Gold shines while gold stocks would be hit harder than stocks generally.
..Silver typically fall sharply on adverse days like this but it dropped a more modest -1.24% to $32.52 while AUD silver at $51.16 down -0.56%. Silver stocks however got smashed, SIL -4.34%, SILJ -4.50%.
...BTC follows Nasdaq as expected, down -2.97% to $95.1k.
...market has been quick to be spooked by the prospect of another Covid pandemic (see below), so now we see data revealing and screaming Stagflation and market now thinking we could get 2-3 rate cuts this year. US 10 yr yield tumbled to 4,42pc.
...and then you'd wonder if Trump would dial back his tariff threats when the sell-off deepens next week. When a sell-off happens late Friday, it would give market participants some time to dwell on it and for fear to fester, so a follow through selling into next week is likely.
...but fear not, Tom Lee says this remains a good set up for stocks because people have been too bearish, lol.
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Stocks sold off on Friday as new U.S. data sparked concern among investors over a slowing economy and sticky inflation, leading them in search of safer assets.
Losses increased into the close as traders feared staying long into a weekend that could bring another barrage of headlines from the Trump administration, which has proposed a flurry of tariffs and other market-moving policy changes since taking charge a month ago.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 748 points, or 1.69%, bringing its two-day losses to more than 1,200 points. Friday’s loss was it’s biggest of the young year. The S&P 500 traded 1.73% lower, falling for a second day after closing at a record on Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite dropped more than 2.2%.
A series of economic data raised new concerns about the economy and sent investors into bonds, which caused yields to tumble. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to 64.7 in January, a decline of 10% and a steeper drop than expected as consumers raised concerns about higher inflation ahead from possible new tariffs. The 5-year inflation outlook in the survey was 3.5%, the highest since 1995. On top of that, existing home sales in the U.S. fell more than expected last month to 4.08 million units. The U.S. services purchasing managers index also dropped into contraction territory for February, according to S&P Global.
Walmart shares were down for a second day after the company issued a weaker-than-expected forecast that also soured the outlook for the consumer and the economy.
Prominent investor Steve Cohen gave some negative comments on the market and economy from a conference in Miami.
“It’s definitely a period where I think the best gains have been had and [it] wouldn’t surprise me to see a significant correction,” Cohen said, citing proposed tariffs dragging on the economy, as well as some of the government’s cost-cutting efforts.
China Reports New Coronavirus 'With Pandemic Potential' Discovered
by Zero Hedge
Saturday, Feb 22, 2025 - 05:12 AM
Stocks suddenly tumbled shortly after lunch and trading desks are scrambling to find a catalyst. With today's big $2.7 trillion options expiration 'unclenching gamma', the market is more free to move, but many are citing a report by The Daily Mail claiming a new coronavirus has been discovered in the wild in China that has the potential to another pandemic.
Yes, you heard that right. Here's what The Daily Mail reports: Another coronavirus feared to be powerful enough to spread through humans has been discovered in China. In scenes eerily reminiscent of the beginnings of Covid, researchers at the infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology detected the new strain living within bats.
HKU5-CoV-2 is strikingly similar to the pandemic virus, sparking fears that history could repeat itself just two years after the worst was declared over.
The new virus is even closer related to MERS, a deadlier type of coronavirus that kills up to a third of people it infects. Virologist Shi Zhengli, known as 'Batwoman' for her work on coronaviruses, led the discovery, published in a top scientific journal. The new HKU5-CoV-2 is a coronavirus belonging to the merbecovirus family of pathogens. Merbecoviruses have been detected in minks and pangolins - the animal believed to be the intermediary for Covid between bats and humans. This, the scientists wrote, 'suggests frequent cross-species transmission of these viruses between bats and other animal species.'
They added: 'This study reveals a distinct lineage of HKU5-CoVs in bats that efficiently use human [cells] and underscores their potential zoonotic risk.' HKU5-CoV viruses were first detected in bats in 2006, but the new data suggests HKU5-CoV-2 has a 'higher potential for interspecies infection' than others. However, the potential for HKU5-CoV-2 to spill over to humans 'remains to be investigated.'
... The research was conducted by the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is at the center of the lab-leak theory, which claims Covid-19 was manufactured in a Chinese lab and accidentally leaked to the public.
While stocks overall were dumped on the report...
Drugmakers, like MRNA and PFE surged...
Bonds are bid as safe-haven flows hit...
The market is extremely anxious here but for now, this seems like the catalyst for this leg down - however farcical that may seem.
