Replies

The adventure continues with gold falling and stocks still stuck where they were last week when we were supposed to be in an 'uptrend'. Today's futures have both indexes & metals a bit down before today's reports on factory orders, and auto/truck sales. Lot going on today:

Europe stocks down, Euro holds near lows after inflation data Reuters - 9 hours ago LONDON, (Reuters) - European shares dipped on Tuesday and the euro held near 3 1/2-month lows against the dollar after a fall in euro zone inflation cemented the case for the European Central Bank to ease monetary policy later this week.
Asian stocks mostly up on China data; Europe falls SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Global stocks were mixed on Tuesday with inflation data showing a weak recovery in Europe even as Chinese manufacturing was recovering from contraction. Associated Press5 mins ago
Gold hits four-month low, longest losing streak in seven months Gold fell for a fifth session on Monday, its longest losing streak in seven months, as rising stock markets diverted interest from bullion, and ahead of the latest European Central Bank policy meeting and key U.S. data this week. Spot gold was down 0.3 percent at $1,247.20 an ounce at 1355 GMT,… Reuters
Are Bonds Signaling a Recession, or Warning of a Market Crash? When Treasury yields fall, it generally means that investors around the planet are looking for a flight to safety. Or in the extreme cases, it signals that the economy is slowing — and bonds are supposed ... 24/7 Wall St.
Seattle council passes $15 minimum wage SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle City Council unanimously passed an ordinance Monday that gradually increases the minimum wage in the city to $15, which would make it the highest in the nation. Associated Press
Putin Pausing as Russia Volatility Kills Trade-to-Invest Vladimir Putin ’s territorial ambitions are bumping up against financial markets. As the Russian president plots his next move on Ukraine, investors are giving his inner circle pause for thought. Since Putin annexed Crimea in March in the teeth of international outrage, Russian stocks have become… Bloomberg
Friday's Jobs Report Will Be Pumped w/PEDs - John Crudele, New York Post
The Next Four Days Could Rock Uneasy Markets - Ben Eisen, MarketWatch
European Decision That Could Dismantle Internet - Wayne Brough, RCM
The Real Slow Lane Threat to the Internet's Health - Bret Swanson, Forbes

KCG - THE LOOK…June 3rd, 2014

U.S. stock-index futures retreated, indicating that the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will
fall from a record level, as investors awaited data to gauge the strength of the recovery in the world’s biggest economy.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. dropped 12 percent after cutting its earnings forecast because of mounting costs and slow first-quarter sales. Quiksilver Inc. slumped 35 percent after the surfwear retailer posted a wider loss than analysts had predicted. Hillshire Brands Co. jumped 7.8 percent in pre-market
trading after confirming that Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. has increased its bid for the food producer.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring this month fell 0.3 percent to 1,916.3 at 7:39 a.m. in New York. The equity gauge rose 0.1 percent yesterday to a record 1,924.97, reversing an earlier loss of as much as 0.4 percent. Dow Jones Industrial Average contracts slipped 33 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,689 today.

“The market bounces back and forth, but fundamentally nothing much has changed,” Ivo Weinoehrl, a fund manager at Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management, said by telephone from Frankfurt. “The economy is definitely improving after a disappointing first quarter, and we’re still expecting earnings growth of 7 to 8 percent. We’re in a stable environment, but it’s nothing to get excited about and I don’t see the real pick-up coming through just yet.”
A Commerce Department report at 10 a.m. in Washington will probably show factory orders climbed 0.5 percent in April, according to the median economist estimate compiled by Bloomberg. They rose 0.9 percent in March.

European stocks declined from a six-year high as a report showing lower-than-estimated inflation in
the euro area prompted investors to weigh the outlook for interest rates before Thursday’s European Central Bank meeting. U.S. futures dropped, while Asian shares climbed.

Pennon Group Plc lost 2.6 percent after saying pretax profit at its Viridor waste management unit fell about 20 percent. Eutelsat Communications SA slipped 3.5 percent as Abertis Infraestructuras SA sold its holding in the French satellite operator. Wolseley Plc rose 1.4 percent after posting higher sales on improved demand in the U.S. and Nordic region.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index retreated 0.6 percent to 343.05 at 12:40 p.m. in London. The benchmark gauge added 1.9 percent in May as ECB President Mario Draghi said that the central bank was ready to take action in June if necessary. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures retreated 0.3 percent today, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.5 percent.

• Support:1918, 1912, 1902
• Resistance:1928, 1932, 1942

This year’s rally in U.S. Treasuries set the stage for stocks to follow suit in the next few months if history is any guide, according to Carmine Grigoli, Mizuho Securities USA Inc.’s chief investment strategist.
The CHART OF THE DAY compares this year’s total returns on Treasury bonds maturing in 20 years or more, based on an index compiled by Barclays Plc, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. The figures reflect interest and dividend income along with price changes.
Returns for the 20-years-and-up category were 14 percent for the year through May, Grigoli wrote in a report yesterday.
With that performance in mind, he studied how stocks responded after five-month gains of more than 10 percent in the Treasury bonds since 1926.
The stock index’s subsequent returns averaged 5.7 percent for three months, 11 percent for six months and 20 percent for 12 months, the report said. For each period, the returns were positive at least 83 percent of the time.
“This is a good time to consider rotating from bonds into equities,” Grigoli wrote. He cited the potential for a pickup in takeovers and stock buybacks, along with “reaccelerating profit growth.”
Grigoli expects the S&P 500 to end the year at 2,075. RBC Capital Markets’ Jonathan Golub has an identical estimate, the third-highest among 19 strategists in a Bloomberg survey. Only Canaccord Genuity Group Inc.’s Tony Dwyer and Weeden & Co.’s Michael Purves are more optimistic.