31Jan2020 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street Futures Drop Fractionally, DOW Futures Down 130 Points, Coronavirus Keeps Investors On Edge

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are lower today with shares in London off the most. The FTSE 100 is down 0.66% while Germany’s DAX is off 0.38% and France’s CAC 40 is lower by 0.38%.

Exxon quarterly profit falls 5.2% on weak refining, chemical margins

Exxon Mobil Corp reported a 5.2% drop in fourth-quarter profit on Friday, as assets sales propped up flat year-over-year oil and gas output and weakness in its refining and chemicals businesses.

Futures slide as virus outbreak fans growth fears

Caution about the economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic knocked U.S. stock index futures lower on Friday, more than offsetting a boost from the latest batch of upbeat quarterly corporate earnings.

Wars and viruses: Are robots less prone to market panic?

Widely blamed for volatile “flash crashes” in currencies and equities, high-frequency algorithms may also be why shock global events, including the current coronavirus, seem to have lost their power to spook markets for any length of time.

Shares struggle for footing after virus-battered week

World shares were heading for their biggest weekly losses since August on Friday and oil and metals markets were showing even more brutal damage, as investors worried over the fallout from China’s coronavirus epidemic.

Global funds prefer stocks despite risks still at play

Funds increased their preference for stocks to a two-year high at the expense of bonds and cash holdings in their model global portfolio recommendations this month in a Reuters poll, despite world share markets struggling on the coronavirus breakout.

Oil rises as WHO declares emergency but opposes travel ban

Oil prices rose on Friday but were still set for a fourth consecutive weekly loss, as markets attempted to assess the economic damage of the new coronavirus that has spread from China to around 20 countries, killing more than 200 people.

Top U.S. fund firms split over new limits on shareholder votes

Pending U.S. securities rules that would limit shareholder proposals have divided passive and active U.S. fund firms as some take a harder line on issues like climate change.

Factbox: Airlines suspend China flights due to coronavirus

Airlines are suspending flights to China in the wake of the new coronavirus outbreak, which as of Friday had killed more than 200 people and infected nearly 10,000 people.

OPEC curbs, supply risks to buoy oil prices in 2020: Reuters poll

Oil prices will remain supported near current levels this year as persistent geo-political risks and OPEC-led output curbs help offset growing supply from other producers, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.

Savings Slump As US Spending Jumps With Income Growth Weakest In 2 Years

Savings Slump As US Spending Jumps With Income Growth Weakest In 2 Years

After surging higher in November, analysts expected US personal income and spending growth to slow modestly in December and it did with income growth disappointing.

Personal Spending rose 0.3% MoM (as expected) in December, slightly slower than November’s 0.4% MoM jump.

Personal Income disappointed, rising 0.2% MoM against expectations of a 0.3% rise (and November’s data was revised down from +0.5% to +0.4%).

Pento: Trillion-Dollar Stocks & The Imminent ETF Disater

Pento: Trillion-Dollar Stocks & The Imminent ETF Disater

Authored by Michael Pento via DollarCollapse.com,

There are a handful of stocks in which institutions and individual investors have recently piled into. This behavior is emblematic of all bull markets once they begin to hit the manic phase. Wall Street falls in love with a few high-growth darlings and takes their valuations up to the thermosphere.

If you add up the market capitalizations of just four stocks, Google (Alphabet), Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon, their combined worth exceeds $5 trillion.

If you throw in Facebook, you get the top 5 biggest firms by market capitalization, and they compose an amazing 18% of the S&P 500. Another way of looking at this is that the market cap of a full 282 companies in the S&P 500 now equals the same as the top 5 behemoths.

WHOphoria Fades, Stocks Slide As Virus Pandemic Nears 10,000 Cases

WHOphoria Fades, Stocks Slide As Virus Pandemic Nears 10,000 Cases

Yesterday, shortly after the WHO managed to unleash a torrid stock rally that sent the Dow over 350 points higher when it declared the coronavirus outbreak and international health emergency and a “global pandemic” yet underscored its faith that China will be able to contain the spread of the disease, we predicted that “Stocks are amping on WHO promoting tourism to China, before reversing after China announces over 10,000 cases at 6pm”

Stocks ramping on WHO promoting tourism to China, before reversing after China announces over 10,000 cases at 6pm

” zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 30, 2020

That’s precisely what happened, with futures spiking to just shy of 3,300 as algos were enthused by the WHO’s optimism, only to slide as China reported that nearly 10,000 people are now infected and 100,000 are under observation.

Russia Confirms First Coronavirus Cases As JPM, Goldman Cut Growth Forecasts

Russia Confirms First Coronavirus Cases As JPM, Goldman Cut Growth Forecasts

Summary:

UK confirms first two coronavirus cases after multiple scares

Confirmed cases in China rise to 9,692 from 7,700 a day earlier

Risk-off mood hits stocks

Impact of virus “not fully reflected” in rigged China PMI number

At least two-thirds of China’s economy to stay shut.

Goldman disagrees with Ross, says virus blowback will wipe 0.4% off US GDP growth

‘The U.K. health department confirmed two cases of coronavirus in England on Friday, while the U.S. and Japan advised citizens to avoid traveling to China.

Hong Kong schools shuttered until March 2

Singapore closes borders to Chinese travelers, first southeast Asian nation to do so.

43 airlines cancel flights to China

France successfully evacuates citizens

1,000 suspected virus cases ‘under observation’ in India

Confirmed cases near 10,000 as Russia confirms 2

JPM cuts global growth forecast

* * *

Update (0745ET): Like the UK, after several false alarms, Russia has now confirmed its first coronavirus cases, Deputy PM Tatiana Golikova confirmed, according to RT. Russian media said two cases have been confirmed, and are now …

December 2019 Headline Income Growth Slows

Written by Steven Hansen

This month there was a significant decline in the year-over-year growth rate for income, but expenditures’ growth was little changed.

Need to Know: Here’s the daring way Europe’s largest fund manager is reacting to the coronavirus outbreak

There is considerable debate whether to œbuy the dip or not as financial markets react to the coronavirus outbreak. Europe’s largest fund manager sees opportunities in emerging markets.

Economic Report: U.S. worker pay and benefits no longer growing faster despite unemployment at 50-year low

The lowest unemployment rate in 50 years still isn’t leading to a big increase in wages and benefits for American workers.

Economic Report: U.S. consumer spending posts modest gain in December as inflation accelerates

U.S consumer spending rose modestly in December to cap off a decent holiday shopping season, but the increase in outlays in 2019 was the smallest in three years. A key measure of inflation, meanwhile, accelerated to the highest rate of the year, though it’s still quite low.