08Jan2021 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street Expected To Open Higher, DOW Up 76 Points, Nasdaq Up +0.5%, WTI Crude Climbs Higher To 51.51, Gold Slips 1880, Bitcoin At 41300, Rail Down 7.2% For The Year

Written by Gary

Huge December Payrolls Miss: 140,000 Jobs Lost, Worst Month Since April (SPY +0.4%). SP Futures Hit Record High Above 3,800 Ahead Of Dismal Payrolls Report.

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money
	European markets are mixed today. The DAX is up 0.70% while the CAC 40 gains 0.70%. The FTSE 100 is off 0.08%.

What Is Moving the Markets

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	The Future For Natural Gas Is Far From Certain Natural gas seems to be locked in a range that prevents it from being truly economic across the demand cycle. As you can see from the graphic below, for about half of 2020 it was below the $2.00 mark. Weather forecasts for a cold winter, beginning in August of 2020, began to ramp it toward its ultimate 2020 high of ~$3.50 per MCF on October 30th. If you average out the 2020 sales price for gas you get something like $2.17 MCF. MarketWatch Thats a price that most of the gas drillers can make a little money on, but it does nothing for their
	3 Reasons To Go All In On Lithium The last decade has been brutal for commodities, with the sector posting declines in 7 out of 10 years. Last year was not much better, merely remaining flat after managing to claw back most of its early year losses. Few commodities, however, have been more disappointing than lithium, a metal that was supposed to make investors rich as EVs replace their dirtier ICE brethren. Lithium enjoyed a meteoric rise in the 2016-2017 period, with prices doubling since the beginning of 2016 and nearly quadrupling since the turn of the decade. The fact that
	UAE Oil Takes Center Stage In U.S. Pushback Against China Abu Dhabi the oil powerhouse at the centre of the U.S.s pushback against increasing Chinese influence across the Middle East – last week further cemented this alliance with a dramatic re-organisation of its government to further empower its oil sector, and the awarding of further oil concessions to U.S.-friendly firms. Both of these developments were in line with plans to boost the crude oil production of the chief corporate proxy in this U.S.-Israel strategy the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) from around the current
	Saudi Surprise Cut Continues To Lift Oil Prices Oil prices remained elevated and were still on the rise on Thursday, hitting an 11-month high, as the effects of Saudi Arabias surprise announcement about an additional million barrels of crude oil production cuts still has enough juice to withstand civil unrest in the United States and the global pandemic. At 4:11 p.m. EST, the WTI benchmark was trading up 0.61% on the day at $50.94. The last time WTI traded above $50 per barrel was February. One week ago, the WTI benchmark closed at $48.52. The Brent crude benchmark is now trading at $54.50,
	Net-Zero Emissions Might Not Be Possible Without Nuclear Power Declining solar, wind, and battery technology costs are helping to grow the share of renewables in the worlds power mix to the point that governments are pledging net-zero emission electricity generation in two to three decades to fight global warming. Yet, electricity grids will continue to require stable baseload to incorporate growing shares of renewable energy sources and ensure lights are on even when the sun doesnt shine, or the wind doesnt blow. Until battery technology evolves enoughand costs fall
	Floating Oil Storage Shrinks Amid Robust Asian Demand Global floating oil storage declined at a fast pace in December as traders sold crude held on tankers in the absence of price incentives to store it and in order to meet peak winter demand in Asia, analysts and sources at trading firms told Reuters. The Brent futures curve has returned to backwardation, the state of the market signaling tighter supplies with prompt prices higher than those further out in time. Backwardation removes the incentives for traders to store oil in floating storage. In March and April, when oil demand crashed, traders
	Pfizer vaccine appears to neutralize a key mutation of Covid variants found in UK, South Africa The research, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, suggested the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine worked to neutralize the so-called N501Y mutation.
	2020 was one of the hottest years on record, tied with 2016 The Arctic and northern Siberia saw the largest temperature surges and Europe had its hottest year on record as global carbon emissions continued to rise.
	Moderna coronavirus vaccine becomes the third approved for use in the UK The U.K. has already vaccinated around 1.5 million people.
	EU agrees new Pfizer Covid vaccine deal and secures nearly half its annual output The EU is doubling its purchases of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine at a time of growing concern over its rollout.
	1 in 30 Londoners has Covid as city mayor declares a major incident London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Friday declared a major incident over the rapid spread of the coronavirus in the U.K.’s capital city.
	Retail rents tumble to historic lows in New York City amid bankruptcies and store vacancies Rents for retail space in New York City have skid to historic lows, dropping as much as 25% from 2019 levels, according to a new report.
	Israel’s Covid vaccine rollout is the fastest in the world ” here are some lessons for the rest of us From logistics to public information campaigns, there are a number of lessons that other countries could learn from Israel as they try to ramp up their own vaccination drives.
	Corona plans second hard seltzer launch this year, Constellation Brands CEO says “It’s a category that’s growing, and we’re going to take a significant share of it,” Constellation Brands CEO Bill Newlands told CNBC’s Jim Cramer.
	New York Gov. Cuomo warns Covid variant discovered in UK could strain hospitals, force shutdown New York could be forced into another economic shutdown if a new, contagious variant of the virus adds strain to the state’s hospitals, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
	Hospital group presses Trump administration for ongoing federal help with vaccine distribution Pollack said some hospitals have received fewer doses than requested while others have received more than they need “without an explanation for this mismatch.”
	Boeing to pay more than $2.5 billion to settle criminal conspiracy charge over 737 Max Boeing agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion to settle criminal conspiracy charges relating to its 737 Max planes after two deadly crashes.
	Texas, Connecticut health officials identify states’ first cases of new Covid strain found in UK It’s likely that the variant is already circulating in Texas, because the man had no prior travel history, the state’s health commissioner said in a statement.
	Fiat Chrysler unveils new three-row Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV Jeep is expanding its popular Grand Cherokee lineup with a new three-row model, which the company believes will widen the vehicle’s appeal.
	Huge December Payrolls Miss: 140,000 Jobs Lost, Worst Month Since April Huge December Payrolls Miss: 140,000 Jobs Lost, Worst Month Since April As previewed earlier when we said “December Payrolls Preview: Brace For A Very Ugly Number”, as a result of the second wave of covid shutdowns economists expected a sharp slowdown in December job growth in the U.S., with more than a quarter of those surveyed – including Goldman – predicting a negative print. Yet as Bloomberg notes, while the data is “almost certain to show an ongoing loss of labor-market momentum — indeed, it could reveal outright job losses — one could argue that it’s already outdated.” After all, a fresh stimulus package was passed towards the end of last month, and there is every chance of a further one in the months to come. Moreover, the prospect of vaccine-related normalization still hovers in the future, even if the current reality of the pandemic looks fairly grim. Finally, with this the last payroll month under the Trump admin, it is hardly a secret that the BLS would look to have a kitchen sink month where the upward “government massaged data” over the past 4 years catches down to reality. With all that in mind, it was still a surprise just how ugly the December print was, with the BLS reporting that a whopping 140K jobs were lost last month on consensus expectations of a 50K print (although Goldman’s -50K forecast was close).
	Democrats Eye Vote On Impeachment As Early As Next Week Democrats Eye Vote On Impeachment As Early As Next Week Update (0815ET): With the 25th Amendment out the window, Congressional Democrats are moving on to door #2 – impeachment. According to CNN, Democrats may vote on impeachment as soon as the middle of next week. According to the report, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team are working out a “lightning-quick impeachment process,” according to “multiple Democratic sources.” “This is urgent — this is an emergency of the highest magnitude,” Pelosi told reporters on Thursday, adding “My phone has been exploding with ‘impeach, impeach, impeach.'” Pelosi and her leadership team spoke Thursday night about whether to hold a quick impeachment vote, and the overwhelming sentiment was to move ahead, according to multiple sources. While there were s …
	Bitcoin Nears $42k, Ethereum Up 70% In 2021 Bitcoin Nears $42k, Ethereum Up 70% In 2021 After topping $40k yesterday, and immediately plunging over $2,000, buyers have been ebullient since, lifting the largest cryptocurrency up near $42,000 this morning… Source: Bloomberg “Seems we only dump to shake out the weak hands these days,” a popular social media traderÂ summarizedÂ on the day. Bitcoin has pushed notably above its ‘stock-to-flow’ fair value in recent days…
	S&P Futures Hit Record High Above 3,800 Ahead Of Dismal Payrolls Report S&P Futures Hit Record High Above 3,800 Ahead Of Dismal Payrolls Report While there is broad consensus that today’s payrolls report will be ugly, with economists expecting a sharp slowdown in December job growth in the U.S. due to the second wave of covid lockdowns and a quarter of those surveyed (including Goldman) predicting a negative print when the data is published at 8:30 a.m. ET, that did not dent the euphoric sentiment unleashed with the Democrats’ blue wave victory in Georgia, and as traders walked into their basement offices on Friday the Emini was trading up 13 pts ot 0.3%, to 3,808 having hit a record high of 3,817.75 earlier. The dollar erased gains and 10-year Treasury yields were flat. Among individual stocks, hedge fund hotel Sarepta sank 46% in premarket trading after a trial for its gene therapy missed investor expectations.Â Micron Technology Inc r …
	Renters: Eviction ban in England extended for six weeks Councils will also be given extra funding to accommodate rough sleepers, the government announces.
	Brexit: Firms warn of problems as new EU trade rules kick in Firms warn of more red tape, higher costs and delays a week after new Brexit export rules took effect.
	BA Holidays selling Caribbean breaks despite lockdown Despite the UK in lockdown, and other tour firms halting operations, the company has departures this weekend.
	TCS Q3 results: Net profit rises 7% to Rs 8,701 crore; firm declares Rs 6/share dividend Revenue for the quarter rose 5.42 per cent YoY to Rs 42,015 crore compared with Rs 39,854 crore in the same quarter last year. TCS said it was its strongest third quarter in nine years.
	White-knuckle bitcoin rally powers crypto’s best week since 2017 The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index, which includes Bitcoin, Ether and three other digital coins, has rallied about 50 per cent this week, the most since December 2017.
	Equity MFs see outflows for sixth month in a row as investors withdraw Rs 10,000 cr in Dec Amfi data released for the month of December said investors withdrew a net Rs 10,147.12 crore, lower than previous month’s Rs 12,917.36 crore from equity oriented funds thanks to selloff in all but two categories.
	Rail Week Ending 02 January 2021 – Rail Down 7.2% For The Year Written by Steven Hansen Week 53 of 2020 shows same week total rail traffic (from the same week one year ago) improved according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR) traffic data [note that there was no week 53 last year). Total rail traffic has been mostly in contraction for over one year – and now is slowly recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
	: Travel restrictions tighten further in Europe as COVID-19 is spreading faster Nearly 53,000 new infections were registered in the U.K. in the last 24 hours and more than 25,000 in France.
	: Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine appears to protect against U.K. and South African COVID-19 strains, study finds BioNTech said that the company would be able to adjust the vaccine developed with Pfizer to address new mutations of a coronavirus if necessary.
	: CDC officials say people with history of allergic reactions should be monitored after receiving a COVID-19 shot People with a history of severe allergic reactions should be monitored after receiving the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and should reconsider getting the second dose if the anaphylaxis is severe, U.S. health officials said Wednesday.