US TSYS: Extending Lows After Saturday Tariff Calls Confirmed

Jan-31 20:18
  • Trading weaker most of the session, Treasuries extended lows late Friday after White House officials confirmed 25% tariffs on Canada & Mexico, 10% on China will be announced Saturday, February 1.
  • The Mar'25 10Y Treasury futures contract trades -12.5 at 108-27 after the bell, still above initial technical support at 108-23 (20-day EMA)., 10Y yield +.0508 at 4.5671% after declining to as low as 4.5003% midmorning.
  • Tariff confirmation stoked a swift move lower for the greenback, with the USD index extending to session lows following the WMR fixing window which also appeared to be dominated by USD supply. The likes of USDCAD and USDMXN pushed firmly lower, with the former erasing the entirety of the late Thursday surge to trade back below 1.44.
  • Stocks did not like the confirmation either, SPX Eminis and Nasdaq retreating from near all-time highs to moderate session lows in late trade, Energy and Materials sectors underperforming.
  • Focus turned to next week's heavy corporate earnings docket, key CPI and PPI inflation measures and headline employment data for January.

Historical bullets

US TSYS: Tsy Curves Look To Finish 2024 at June'22 Highs

Dec-31 19:18
  • Treasuries look to finish the last trading session of 2024 lower after reversing Tuesday morning support. Markets closed Wednesday for New Years day, resume full trade Thursday.
  • The Mar'25 10Y contract trades 108-25.5 (-5.5) late in the day, 10Y yield near session high of 4.5871%. Curves bounced off flatter levels, 2s10s climbing to 34.344 -- the highest level since June 2022.
  • Short end support, in turn, helped projected rate cuts into early 2025 gain momentum vs. late Monday levels (*) as follows: Jan'25 steady at -2.8bp, Mar'25 -14.6bp (-13.6bp), May'25 -20.6bp (-19.5bp), Jun'25 -29.8bp (-28.8bp).
  • No substantive reaction to this morning's housing and regional Dallas Fed services activity data. Looking ahead to Thursday data (prior, est): Initial Jobless (219k, 221k) and Continuing Claims (1.910M, 1.890M) at 0830ET; S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI (48.3, 48.3) at 0945ET; Construction Spending MoM (0.4%, 0.3%) at 1000ET.
  • Treasury supply: $85B 4- & $80B 8W bill auctions at 1130ET, $64B 17W bill auction at 1300ET.

COMMODITIES: WTI Futures, Gold Holding Higher

Dec-31 18:47

WTI futures are trading higher today as the contract extends recent gains. A stronger reversal to the upside would refocus attention on key short-term resistance at $76.41, the Oct 8 high. Initial firm resistance is unchanged at $71.97. A bear threat in Gold remains present. The yellow metal traded sharply lower on Dec 18 and the move undermines a recent bull theme. A resumption of weakness would open key support at $2536.9, the Nov 14 low.

  • WTI Crude up $0.9 or +1.27% at $71.88
  • Natural Gas down $0.32 or -8.13% at $3.618
  • Gold spot up $19.24 or +0.74% at $2625.86
  • Copper down $6.95 or -1.7% at $402.3
  • Silver down $0.1 or -0.34% at $28.8383
  • Platinum up $3.96 or +0.44% at $908.02

US STOCKS: Late Equity Roundup: Tech & Interactive Media Sectors Underperforming

Dec-31 18:36
  • Stocks are trading near session lows after reversing early session gains. Though off this year's record highs (SPX Eminis 6178.75, DJIA 45,073.63, Nasdaq 20,204.58) major averages will finish the year with double digit gains: SPX Eminis +19.5%, DJIA +13.1%, while the Nasdaq gained 29.9%!
  • Currently, the DJIA trades down 92.19 points (-0.22%) at 42474.46, S&P E-Minis down 28 points (-0.47%) at 5929.75, Nasdaq down 147 points (-0.8%) at 19337.13.
  • Information Technology and Communication Services shares underperformed continued to underperform late Tuesday, shares of software and semiconductor makers weighing on the tech sector: Nvidia -1.61%, Advanced Micro Devices -1.36%, Crowdstrike Holdings -1.28%.
  • Interactive media and entertainment shares weighed on the Communication Services sector: Alphabet -0.9%, Live Nation -0.76%, Netflix -0.60%, Meta -0.41%.
  • On the positive side, Energy and Materials sectors outperformed in the second half, oil & gas stocks buoyed the Energy sector as crude prices continued to rise (WTI +1.0 at 71.99): APA Corp +3.59%, Marathon Petroleum +2.46%, Occidental Petroleum +2.15%.
  • Meanwhile, shares of chemical & fertilizer makers supported the Materials sector: Mosaic +2.44%, Celanese +1.42%, Dow +1.37%.
  • Looking ahead, the next round of quarterly earnings kicks off mid-January with Blackrock, Bank of NY Melon, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, US Bancorp, M&T Bank and PNC all reporting between January 13-16.