| |

The Morning Look

Byaaronmat-admin

Stock Market Overview:

Stocks futures are down sharply ahead of the latest round of economic data. Stocks have been under pressure all week and the sellers remain in control. Today is the last trading day of the week and it will be important to see where the market closes. Oil prices fell to the lowest level since 2008 which illustrates how weak the global economy is right now. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, Dec 16 and investors believe they will raise rates by a quarter point. The Fed has been telling us all year that they are going to raise rates but when push comes to shove, they do nothing. We’ll see if anything changes next week. A defense stance is paramount right now.

Gary’s Thoughts: Markets remain sloppy in a month where markets are “supposed” to be positive. As far as the Fed, we will cross that rickety bridge when we get there. Just remember, even with this rally up off of early October lows, we have taken pains to tell you the rally has remained narrow and that eventually, there will be a comeuppance. Two weeks ago, we started to tell you that we were starting to see the signs we saw before the August “meltdown.” We will leave it at that. Expect a comprehensive report this weekend on where markets stand, our stance and our thoughts on next week’s egomanical Fed meeting. 

Economic Data is light today: Gary’s Thoughts: Nothing earthshaking!

  • The Producer Price Index – 8:30am EST
  • Retail Sales – 8:30am EST
  • Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index at 9:45am -10:00am EST
  • Consumer Sentiment – 10:00am EST

Highlights Of The Day:

  • Dow, DuPont to merge in deal valued at $130B
    Gary’s Thoughts: Late stage merger of two companies with declining sales. Not sure if this deal gets done.
  • IEA Sees Oil Glut Lasting to Late 2016 as OPEC Keeps Pumping, Oil prices plunge to lowest level since 2008!
    Gary’s Thoughts: We won’t predict. We just know the glut remains and the bear market in energy remains.
  • Several executives continue to  “disappear” in China which leads many to question their detention system.
    Gary’s Thoughts: Call Mannix!
  • Heavy selling showing up in emerging market currencies today, including Turkey, Brazil, South Africa and Russia. The Russian ruble is at its lowest level since August. Remember Russia’s economy is very dependent on oil prices and the fact that oil prices continue to plunge hurts their economy and their currency.
    Gary’s Thoughts: This is nothing new. Just a continuation as commodity-based countries continue to implode.