Cargo Ship Sinks The Market
The wild ride in the markets today is indicative of the trend we have been in since late March. Somehow, some way, I find myself still in considerable profit despite the markets best attempts to shake me off. With bogus misinterpretation of news around a US cargo ship being held by the Iranians this morning, the market plunged only to fully recover, and then some, when the news was properly reported.
No wonder there are conspiracy theories alive and well in the financial markets. And apologies for the pun in the title, I couldn’t help myself!
Anyway, for me there was no harm done. I think with a dovish statement from the Fed tomorrow a new all-time high is a shoe-in. Unless another cargo ship is kidnapped of course…Futures are already rising after the close.
Market News
U.S. stocks closed mixed on Tuesday as investors eyed tech earnings and awaited the Federal Reserve’s statement on Wednesday.
Twitter shares resumed trading down about 20 percent. The company was scheduled to report after the bell but released its earnings early, after shares were halted following a 5.5 percent plunge on online reports that earnings may have leaked.
The social media company reported a beat on earnings but a miss on revenue, as well as lower 2015 full-year expectations. Guidance on second-quarter revenue was about $100 million lower than estimates.
Tuesday’s afternoon gains in equities were muted, with the Nasdaq failing to stay in positive territory, as investors remained on edge ahead of Wednesday’s expected Fed statement.
The Federal Market Open Committee began on Tuesday and will conclude with the release of a post-meeting statement expected at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. A wave of mostly disappointing domestic data since the previous FOMC meeting has spurred economists to downgrade their outlooks for the U.S. economy in 2015, particularly for the first quarter. Signs of economic improvement in the subsequent quarters could still support a rate hike at some point later this year.
Senior US defense officials told NBC News that Iranian Revolutionary guard forces seized a cargo ship, flagged to the Marshall Islands. According to the officials, the revolutionary forces boarded the vessel in international waters off the coast of Iran and may be taking it to an Iranian port.
The Maersk Tigris, which had no U.S. citizens abroad, was traveling through the Strait of Hormuz near the Persian Gulf when the incident occurred, a Pentagon spokesman told Reuters.
The euro strengthened to above $1.09, with hopes of progress on the Greece debt talks, Boockvar said. However, the stronger currency put pressure on European stocks, which closed lower.
Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, said on Monday that he may resort to a referendum if lenders insist on demands that the government deems unacceptable, Reuters reported. But he added that he was confident of striking a deal to avoid such a scenario.
The Conference Board consumer confidence survey results for April was 95.2, below expectations of a rise.
The S&P/Case-Shiller’s 20-City Composite gained 5 percent year-over-year in February, compared with a 4.5 percent increase in January.
Wednesday
Earnings: Deutsche Bank, Fiat Chrysler, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Hess, Starwood, Brunswick, Carlyle Group, Spirit Airlines, Norfolk Southern, Southern Co, Time Warner, Garmin, GrubHub, International Paper, Thomson Reuters, MasterCard, Marriott, Whiting Petroleum, Williams Cos, Boston Beer, Cabot, Murphy Oil, Baidu, Vertex, Yelp, Shutterfly, LaQuinta, Goodyear
8:30 a.m.: Q1 GDP, pending home sales
1:00 p.m.: $29 billion 7-year notes
2:00 p.m.: FOMC statement