11Mar2021 Pre-Market Commentary: Weekly Jobless Claims Total 712,000 Vs. 725,000 Expected, DOW Up 102 Points, Nasdaq Futures Jump As Tech Shares Gain Up 1.8%, WTI Higher 65.52

Written by Gary

DOW set to record new record on opening (SPY +0.6%). Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Oracle, Bumble, AMC, Cloudera.

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money
	European markets are mixed today. The CAC 40 is up 1.11% while the DAX gains 0.15%. The FTSE 100 is off 0.04%.

What Is Moving the Markets

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Why U.S. Shale Production Remains Stubbornly High I have written on shale production in the U.S. a number of times over the past couple of years for OilPrice. My expectation that shale production would fall sharply to ~5-6 mm BOEPD by the end of 2020, has not been borne out. My view was that a lack of drilling/completion activity due to adverse price conditions would cause production to fall sharply. Historical annual decline rates for shale wells can be as high as 60% in the first year. In this article I discuss some of the reasons I feel this has occurred and what it may portend for oil supplies
	Saudi Oil Exports Holding Strong Despite Production Cut Commitment Saudi Arabias crude oil exports fell just slightly in February, in stark contrast to the bold voluntary production cuts that the Kingdom had offered to make, according to PetroLogistics and Kpler data cited by Reuters. Saudi Arabia had shocked the oil markets when it voluntarily offered to withhold an additional million barrels of oil production per day from the market in addition to what it was already tasked with cutting as part of the OPEC+ group. It vowed to continue those cuts through April. But data shows that Saudi Arabias
	Biden Is Playing A Dangerous Game In The Middle East Washingtons new Middle East policies looks like sandcastle. Targeting MBS means putting region at peril The new media frenzy about a possible full-out confrontation between the US Biden Administration and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a sign that Western political leaders are out of touch with reality. Last weeks revelations published in a declassified report by U.S. security services on the role of MBS in the Khashoggi murder show not only the lack of proof available, but could also lead to a full divorce between Saudi
	Saudis Vow To Protect Oil Facilities And Global Supply After Latest Attacks Saudi Arabia will take the necessary measures to keep its oil resources and facilities safe and ensure the security of global oil supply, the Kingdoms Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said on Wednesday, after the latest attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure. On Sunday, Yemens Houthi rebels said they had fired 14 drones and eight ballistic missiles at oil facilities at the Saudi port of Ras Tanura and military targets in three other Saudi cities. Oil prices spiked early on Monday as markets opened. For a brief period on Monday,
	Iran Pushes Development Of Major Oil Region Under 25-Year China Deal Whether the Iranian leadership thinks that new U.S. President Joe Biden is set to go easier on the Islamic Republic or on China is unclear as yet but whichever it is, Tehran is pushing to increase oil output from all available fields in the coming 12 months. The focus of these efforts remains on the oil-packed West Karoun region, the recoverable reserves of which increase by 670 million barrels for every one per cent that the rate of recovery from the area. At an average Brent oil price of US$50 per barrel this increase in recoverable reserves
	Qatar Exports First Oil To Arab Gulf Neighbor Since Rift Ended Qatar exported its first oil cargo to a neighboring country in the Arab Gulf since Saudi Arabia and some of its close allies restored diplomatic ties with the tiny nation in January, after three and a half years of economic embargo and strained relations. Qatar, a small oil producer especially compared to Saudi Arabia, shipped some 700,000 barrels of its oil to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in early March, according to Bloomberg tanker-tracking data. Qatars first oil delivery to a neighbor marks the start of recovering trade relations after
	Jeep unveils long-awaited Grand Wagoneer SUV topping $111,000 The Grand Wagoneer SUV will test whether Jeep can expand its product range into the lucrative luxury SUV segment and attract new customers.
	States lift Covid restrictions, drop mask mandates and reopen businesses despite warnings from Biden officials Despite warnings from the Biden administration, more states are lifting capacity restrictions on businesses and ending mask mandates.
	Here are the states with the longest and shortest life expectancies, according to the CDC People born in Southern U.S. states had a lower life expectancy when compared to people in other parts of the country, the CDC found.
	Denmark suspends use of AstraZeneca Covid vaccine over reports of blood clots “It is important to emphasize that we have not opted out of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but that we are putting it on hold,” the country’s National Board of Health said.
	These six islands opened to travelers ” and still have some of the world’s lowest Covid rates Many destinations that opened to tourists during the pandemic experienced rising coronavirus infection rates shortly thereafter. Not these places.
	J&J’s one-shot Covid vaccine approved in Europe but supply questions linger The vaccine has the added benefit of only requiring a single dose and can be stored in most standard refrigerators at temperatures of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius.
	Activist investor group cuts its Kohl’s board slate to 5 directors from 9 The group of activist investors looking to seize control of Kohl’s board reduced the number of directors that it plans to nominate, to five from nine.
	Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Oracle, Bumble, AMC, Cloudera, others These are the stocks posting the largest moves before the bell.
	5 things to know before the stock market opens Thursday Dow futures rose about 100 points Thursday, one day after the 30-stock average surged 1.5% to close at a record high.
	Hand sanitizer demand will stay ‘exponentially higher’ than 2019 levels, CEO of Purell parent says Carey Jaros, CEO of Gojo Industries, told CNBC that she expects hand sanitizer demand will fall from 2020 levels but the business will be stronger than before.
	J&J Covid vaccine distribution in poor, Black communities raises race questions The allocation of J&J’s shot to inner cities and rural areas, as some officials suggest, could bring allegations of discrimination based on race and class.
	Biden says he will announce the ‘next phase’ of the U.S. Covid response Thursday President Joe Biden said he will announce the “next phase” of the U.S. Covid-19 response during his prime-time address to Americans on Thursday.
	Nissan’s COO says its post-Ghosn turnaround plan is on track to hit targets a year ahead of schedule Nissan is making significant progress on a global restructuring plan as it unwinds initiatives of its former leader-turned-international fugitive Carlos Ghosn.
	There Are Still More Than 20 Million Americans Getting Government Jobless Benefits There Are Still More Than 20 Million Americans Getting Government Jobless Benefits Last week saw the least initial jobless claims since the start of the pandemic, but still at 712k – almost 4 times the pre-COVID norms. Source: Bloomberg Continuing Claims continued to slide but pandemic emergency claims surged to new record highs… Source: Bloomberg However, the total number of Americans ‘on the dole’ surged back above 20 million…
	Watch Live: ECB Christine Lagarde Explain Why She Is Upping Bond-Buying Watch Live: ECB Christine Lagarde Explain Why She Is Upping Bond-Buying ECB President Christine Lagarde surprised markets with a more dovish than expected promise to accelerate the pace of its bond buying over the next three months in response to the eurozone’s rising borrowing costs and faltering economic recovery. As Bloomberg’s Carolynn Look notes, it’s unclear so far what the œsignificantly higher pace of PEPP purchases will look like. “Net buying has come in at around 12 billion euros for the last two weeks, compared with an average of 18 billion euros per week since the program was launched last March. What the statement does show is that the Governing Council is uncomfortable with the yield levels it sees today. But it’s hard to say what levels the ECB would be comfortable with.” Hopefully we will learn more in the next few minutes, although it bears noting that we are back to square one, where the ECB just adds more of the same thing that hasn’t been working… and now that it is finally working, adding even more more of the same thing to offset the consequences of the inflation.Â Ok, explain away Christine…
	Nasdaq Futs Soar, Yields Tumble After ECB Pledges To Accelerate Bond Purchases Nasdaq Futs Soar, Yields Tumble After ECB Pledges To Accelerate Bond Purchases US equity futures and world stocks jumped to their highest in over a week after the latest CPI report calmed investor nerves about inflation which coupled with a solid 10Y auction and a surprise pledge from the ECB which pledged to ramp up its buying of government debt in coming months in a bid to a contain rising bond yields that threaten to derail the region’s economic recovery. The ECB announcement helped already low yields drop further and pushed the MSCI’s All Country World Index to its highest in just over a week, up 0.7% on the day. Tech stocks got a further boost – led by Chinese semi companies – after China’s main industry association said it will work with its U.S. counterpart to discuss supply-chain safety and trade restrictions Dow E-minis were up 118 points, or 0.37%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 30.25 points, or 0.77% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 248 points, or 2% At 7:45 a.m. ET. After several days of volatility, Nasdaq futures pointed to the return of tech outperformance a …
	Cuomo Denies “Aggressively Groping” Female Staffer At Governor’s Mansion Cuomo Denies “Aggressively Groping” Female Staffer At Governor’s Mansion Earlier this week, the Albany Times-Union, the newspaper of record for New York State’s capitol region, reported that Gov. Andrew Cuomo had been sexually inappropriate with a sixth woman – another young woman who was apparently in her 20s when Cuomo made the aggressive pass at her – at the governor’s mansion. Though her name has not been revealed (at least, not yet), the Times Union returned last night with an even more shocking report expounding the details of the encounter. Unlike previous incidents, where Cuomo made an aggressive and inappropriate pass at a staffer or a fellow wedding guest or awkwardly planted a kiss on their cheek, the Times-Union described an encounter where a young woman was lured to the executive mansion (possibly under false pretenses) where s …
	John Lewis warns of ‘painful’ store closures The retail giant reports big losses and says it does not expect to reopen all of its shops post-lockdown.
	HSBC plans to phase out coal lending by 2040 The bank will ask investors to back the plan following pressure from a shareholder campaign group.
	Virtual reality headsets for work ‘could snowball’ Use of the headsets by people working from home could pick up quite rapidly, a business group says.
	Key breadth indicator hinting at possible higher levels for Nifty50 The most important use of this AD Line Breadth Indicator is to examine any divergence; bullish or bearish, against the index. In the current case, this Breadth Indicator is shown a bullish divergence against Nity50 Index.
	Gold ‘failing’ as equity hedge, faces risks: BlackRock Bullion is proving to be a less effective hedge against moves in other assets, such as stocks, as well as inflation, according to Russ Koesterich, portfolio manager for BlackRock’s Global Allocation Fund.
	Bitcoin’s market value passes $1 trillion again amid risk rally Ether — the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency — advanced as much as 3%. The gains mirror broader risk-on optimism after the Nasdaq 100 Index that rebounded this week from an earlier decline that pushed it into correction territory.
	: Rolls-Royce hopes $5.6 billion 2020 loss leaves ‘the worst behind’ The British engine maker and supplier of parts to the airline industry, announced a worse-than-expected loss for 2020, but said it is still confident it can turn cash positive in the second half of this year, provided air travel picks up as forecast.
	Metals Stocks: Gold prices aim for third straight rise as bond yield and dollar’s gains cool Futures contracts for gold on Thursday head higher for a third straight session, helped by an abatement in the recent recovery of the U.S. dollar and a retrenchment in yields for government debt.
	: Goldman Sachs pledges $10 billion to change the lives of ‘One Million Black Women’ New initiative will focus on areas including access to capital, healthcare, job creation and education.