12Apr2017 Market Close: Skittish Stocks Closed Lower As Flight To Safety Favored Treasuries And Gold; Even Oil Was Down

Written by Gary

U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday, as geopolitical concerns fuelled the risk-off sentiment for a second straight session while President Trump’s comments rattled the dollar. The start of the earnings season failed to lift sentiment, as a ‘flight to safety’ saw investors ditch equities in favour of safe-haven assets such as gold and U.S. treasuries.

Todays S&P 500 Chart

The Market in Perspective

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Wall Street ends lower; Trump comments dampen sentiment late NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks eased on Wednesday and the S&P 500 closed below a key technical level for the first time since Election Day, pressured by lingering geopolitical concerns and President Donald Trump’s comments on the dollar and interest rates.
	Exclusive: Meredith falls short of Time Inc’s deal price expectations – sources (Reuters) – U.S. media group Meredith Corp has made a preliminary acquisition offer to Time Inc that fell short of the price expectations of the publisher of Sports Illustrated and Fortune magazines, according to people familiar with the matter.
	Exclusive: Inside edge – Trump advisor Icahn’s big bet against biofuels credits (Reuters) – Billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s oil refining company, CVR Energy, made a massive bet in 2016 that prices for U.S. government biofuels credits would fall – just before Icahn started advising President Donald Trump on regulations driving that market.
	United Airlines faces mounting pressure over hospitalized passenger (Reuters) – United Airlines and its chief executive faced mounting pressure on Tuesday from a worldwide backlash over its treatment of a passenger who was dragged from his seat on a plane on Sunday to make room for four employees on the overbooked flight.
	Grey market has become a necessary evil for luxury watchmakers ZURICH (Reuters) – A diamond-studded Rolex at 40 percent off the $34,000 retail price or an Omega Speedmaster Moonphase for less than $10,000? While still out of reach for most people, the increasing prevalence of such deals highlights the perplexing predicament in which luxury watchmakers now find themselves.
	Airbnb signs dozens more tax agreements in the U.S., France SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Airbnb has reached new deals with dozens of jurisdictions in the United States and France to collect and pay taxes, doubling down on its effort to improve its image with local policymakers even as it face regulatory challenges around the world.
	Tesla’s Musk tells disgruntled shareholders: Buy Ford SAN FRANCISCO/DETROIT (Reuters) – A group of Tesla Inc investors has urged the luxury electric car maker to add two new independent directors to its board, without ties to Chief Executive Elon Musk, to “provide a critical check on possible dysfunctional group dynamics.”
	Investors eye midstream sector as production ramps up HOUSTON (Reuters) – Investors are placing bets that demand for U.S. energy pipelines, storage and processing facilities will outstrip supply in the next few years as the resurgence in shale oil and gas production increases.
	Mercedes-Benz undecided if it will sell future U.S. diesels NEW YORK (Reuters) – Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz USA chief said the German automaker has not decided whether to resume selling diesel vehicles in the United States.
	China Reportedly Tells Military To Be Ready To “Move” To North Korea Border According to the otherwise credible UPI, or United Press International, China has ordered its military to be on nationwide alert, in addition to areas near the North Korea border, as tensions escalate on the peninsula. Citing the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, a nongovernmental organization in Hong Kong, UPI writes that Beijing has ordered troops at all five military “regions” to maintain preparedness because of the situation in North Korea, according to Oriental Daily News in Hong Kong. According to the NGO, China’s armored and mechanized infantry brigades in the provinces of Shandong, Zhejiang and Yunnan received the state mandate. UPI adds that about 25,000 troops of the Chinese military’s 47th group army of the Ninth Armored Brigade have been instructed to be ready to move long distances, close to the North Korea border, the Hong Kong-based organization said. Other troops may have been mobilized. As reported prefiously, according to Taiwan’s China Post, the Chinese government may have deployed about 150,000 troops along the North Korea border on Sunday, as U.S. and South Korea militaries conducted joint exercises in and around the peninsula. However, earlier on Wednesday Chinese officials categorically denied the report. The country keeps missiles, including 12 Dongfeng-03 ballistic missiles and 24 Dongfeng-21 “Carrier-killer” missiles at the 51st rocket army station in Shenyang, Liaoning Province. China has become increasingly frustrated with North Korea’s missile threats. Following news of the U.S. deployment of the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson to the peninsula, state tabloid Global Ti …
	The Coming Red Line That Can’t Be Crossed Authored by Mark St.Cyr, We’re hearing a lot about red lines this week. And when those “lines” are posed at a near incessant pace coming from every corner of the media while including other items such as: chemical weapons, missiles, carrier group, troop movements, and more. It’s easy to see how one gets desensitized. It seems for anyone trying to actually pay attention to world events the task gets harder by the day. It makes one think that maybe Timothy Leary was on to something, but I digress. However with the above noted there is one “red line” which is currently below the horizon and has the potential to disrupt the globe in ways that everyone currently believes has been avoided. And much like the carrier group now steaming its way towards the Korean peninsula, it has the same amount of potential “firepower” to escalate things in ways we all hope can be avoided. That “red line” is not a military one, but rather, a “market” one. And if crossed everything changes, and I do mean everything. To wit: (chart source) The above is a weekly chart of the S&P 500™ as of Wed. before the opening bell. As you can see we have been in a near vertical assent since the election. It’s important to put these things into perspective for reasons as I highlighted on the above. First, as you can see there are two horizontals containing blue fields. Why is this area of importance? Because this area represents where we bounced within, incessantly, for months. Where the headlines of …
	Trump Reverses On NATO: “It’s No Longer Obsolete” In a ‘yuge’ victory for the new administration, after spending less than 100 days in office no less, Trump has apparently managed to solve the issue of NATO’s obsolescence after just declaring in a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg that “I said it was obsolete. It’s no longer obsolete.” “The Secretary General and I had a productive discussion about what more NATO could do in the fight against terrorism. I complained about that a long time ago and they made a change. And now they do fight terrorism. I said it was obsolete. It’s no longer obsolete.” At a joint press conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Trump said that he will continue to work closely with NATO allies, particularly when it comes to fighting terrorism. During the 2016 campaign and after his election, Trump frequently criticized NATO as “obsolete” and knocked allies for not paying their “fair share.” At Wednesday’s press conference, Trump reiterated his call that NATO allies “meet their financial obligations and pay what they owe.” He said he discussed with Stoltenberg his desire that allies fulfill their responsibility to spent 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense by 2024, which is basically what former President Obama also demanded from NATO for much of his tenure. And with that, Trump is one more major policy reversal closer to becoming just another mainstream politician. “(NATO) is no longer obsolete.” pic.twitter.com/FwLu67097G — Salvador Hernandez (@SalHernandez) April 12, 2017 …
	Trump Trounces Dollar, Yields Cementing Tech Stocks’ Worst Streak In 5 Years Down! Well that was a day… Tillerson/Lavrov presser sparked a small relief in the safe-haven trend (sending the dollar and bond yields higher) but then Trump’s comments on China, Dollar strength, and Yellen sparked a serious reaction… US Equities were lower on the day… The S&P closed below its 50DMA for the first time since before the election… Bank stocks ended the day in the red for 2017… and gold the year’s big winner….
	Big Economies at Risk of Over-Revving Consumer Engines Rapid growth in consumer credit is troubling policy makers. More defaults are likely to follow when rising interest rates push up repayment costs.
	Broadcom’s Test of Faith on Toshiba The chip maker’s reported interest in memory venture seems outside its well-established playbook
	Akzo Nobel Paints Itself in Corner in Elliott Fight Akzo Nobel management just wants to be left alone. But in fighting off both its U.S. suitor PPG and activist investor Elliott Management, the Dutch paint group may find itself increasingly isolated from shareholder allies it needs
	12Apr2017 Market Close: DOW Down 60 Points, US Dollar Settling In The Low 100’s, Little Change Is Expected Tomorrow Written by Gary Wall Street closed lower having traded sideways for the entire session (SPY -0.4%) in a second session of investors continuing to move to safe-havens assets. The US dollar and crude prices also fell to the way-side with the dollar moving sharply down.
	12Apr2017 Market Update: Wall Street Trends Down Moderately, DOW Off 67 Points, Today’s Loosing Session Expected To Carry Over Tomorrow, Investors Turning To Safe-Haven Assets Written by Gary Major US stock indexes drifted lower today (SPY -0.4%) as investors sought shelter in safe-haven assets amid lingering geopolitical worries, while keeping the upcoming earnings season in sight.
	In One Chart: This popular indicator says the dollar will soon strengthen against the yen At least one widely watched technical indicator is flashing a screaming sell signal for the yen, even as escalating geopolitical tensions suggest that haven assets like the Japanese currency, gold and Treasury bonds will stay bid.
	The Fed: Why did Trump flip flop on Yellen? She may be the dove he needs, analysts say There are a lot of reasons why reappointing Fed chief Janet Yellen makes sense for President Trump, analysts said.
	The Wall Street Journal: CEO vows United will never again use police to remove paid passenger from overfull flight United Airlines Chief Executive Oscar Munoz said the carrier will never again use police to remove paid passengers from overfull flights, abandoning a policy that caused outrage this week after a man in Chicago was dragged screaming off a plane.