Markets:
- Crude oil: $-0.47 at $77.38
- Gold $-11.90 or -0.44% at $2701.83
- Silver is $0.47 or -1.54% at $30.32
- Bitcoin up $4864 or 4.87% at $104,831
The USD ends the day higher against the major currency pairs.
The biggest move is a 0.74% gain against the JPY. The dollar rose 0.61% against the CAD and 0.58% against the GBP. The stock was the smallest of 0.28% against the Euro in today's trade.
US economic data was supportive with housing starts and building permits both higher than expected (although multi-family units helped boost the numbers).
The industrial production and capacity utilization data were also better than expected with industrial production rising 0.9% compared to expectations of 0.3%) and capacity utilization rising to 77.6% from 77% last month.
US yields moved higher and are closing near highs for the day:
- 2 year yield 4.287%, +4.7 basis points. The high yield this week reached 4.424%
- -5 years -4.431%, +3.3 basis points. The high yield this week reached 4.624%
- 10 year 4.67%, +2.1 basis points. The high yield this week reached 4.809%
- 30 years 4.856%, +1.2 basis points. The high yield this week reached 5.005%.
However, the gain in US yields did not hurt stock performance today. All major indices close higher for the day and also for the week (this was the first week up for the major indices in 2025).
For the day:
- The Dow industrial average rose 334.70 points or 0.78% at 43487.83
- The S&P index rose 59.32 points or 1.00% at 5996.66
- The NASDAQ index rose 291.91 points or 1.51% at 19630.20
- The Russell 2000 rose 9.08 points or 0.40% at 2275.88
For the trading week:
- The Dow industrial average rose 3.69%.
- The S&P index rose 2.91%
- The NASDAQ index rose 2.45%
On Monday the bond and stock markets will be close to observing the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The inauguration of the president will also take place on that day for Donald Trump. Although it will be a day of celebration and festivities, there are likely to be several pre-planned Executive Orders that may go through including border control.
Also interesting would be any news on TikTok. Today the High Court confirmed the decision of Congress which wants the show to go down on Sunday 19 January. The Biden administration has already said it would take the can down the road to the Trump administration. Pres. Trump has said he wants to find a solution.
Nevertheless, will the Chinese close the site in the US? Will Pres.Trump have definitive solutions or “stops of execution” to avoid complete mental breakdown of Tiktokers?
Adam is back next week. Have a fun and safe weekend.
