Indian share markets trimmed their morning gains and finished in red due to heavy selling in realty stocks and metal stocks amid mixed global cues. At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 95 points, while the NSE Nifty finished down 34 points. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Mid Cap and the S&P BSE Small Cap finished down by 0.6% and 0.7% respectively. Indian markets are hovering around all-time high. On a price to earnings ratio comparison, the Sensex is placed third when it comes to most expensive emerging markets in the world. India – The Third Most Expensive Emerging Market The global markets are up due to inc...
Over the last five trading days, Q1 earnings season commenced with a bang for the banking stocks. Earnings reports from some mega banks reflect easing margin pressure and continued expense management. Moreover, banks reported a rise in trading income as heightened uncertainty related to potential policy changes led to a significant rise in client activity. Also, investment banking fees seem to be rebounding. However, mortgage banking income witnessed a downtrend. Further, all the big banks recorded a rise in loan balance, despite industry-wide dismal expectations. Additionally, driven by reserve releases, provisions for loan losses reported a...
European stocks slide as traders returned from a 4-day Easter holidays, Asian equities likewise drop pressured by the ongoing rout in iron ore, while U.S. stock-index futures point to a lower open. British markets were roiled after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said she would seek an early election on June 8, in a move aimed at strengthening her hand going into Brexit talks; the FTSE 100 dropped 1.3%, on the news, hitting the lowest since Feb. 24 while 10Y Gilts dropped below 1% for the first time since October. The British pound first tumbled then surged on the news. Tracking today’s surprise announcement by the UK PM, sterling swung...
UK Prime Minister Theresa May surprised the world and announced a snap election on June 8th. With Labour’s consent, the elections will indeed be held on June 8th. May made a calculated gamble to head to the polls. She is aware of her high popularity and is likely to win. GBP/USD is already on the rise, topping 1.2665. Here are more reasons why the elections should be pound positive, allowing sterling to run to much higher ground. Mandate for May: Theresa May became PM after David Cameron quit abruptly and after her rivals for the leadership fell out one by one. She was never elected by her party members nor the public. Winning a genera...
An end to the rumors that weighed on the pound: Theresa May met the press and announced general elections for June 8th. The press conference was announced only two hours in advance and was accompanied by many rumors. Theresa May seeks a new mandate to pursue Brexit. Brexit negotiations would have been hampered by a later vote, says the Prime Minister. GBP/USD bounces back on the news. The uncertainty about the announcement is over, but many questions remain open. Election Motivation In her press conference, Theresa May lays out the achievements of her government, maintaining stability despite the Brexit vote. May discusses the exit out of t...
The US dollar is consolidating the gains scored late in the US session yesterday in response to a Financial Times interview with US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin who seemed to play down the strategic importance of Trump’s recent complaint about the greenback’s strength. Mnuchin spun Trump’s comments to be consistent with his own earlier comments that a strong dollar was in the US interest though in the short-term it presented challenges. It was not, Mnuchin argued, the beginning of “currency war.” The foreign exchange market seemed to accept Mnuchin’s explanation at face value, but his distinction betw...
On Monday, McDonald’s (MCD) announced that it will be the first fast food chain to have mobile ordering at all U.S. restaurants by the end of the year. Many competitors are also on the move with their own systems, but will be behind schedule. The drive to improve speedy service may ultimately translate to an increase in same store sales. Mobile Ordering Just when it seemed like McDonald’s was suffering in sales at its fast-food locations, things might start to pick up. That is because the company announced that it would have mobile ordering and pay systems at all 14,000 U.S. locationwould have mobile ordering and pay systems at all 14,00...
In a stunning development, Theresa May announced she would seek an early general election for Britain on June 8 to obtain a direct mandate to take the country through the Brexit divorce with the EU. The decision, which comes just three weeks after the prime minister began the formal Brexit process, has shocked British politicians as they returned from their Easter break. That said, the announcement has come as two polls over the weekend put the Conservatives 21 points ahead of Labour, a lead that is likely to greatly increase its existing working Commons majority of 17, which hardly means a major shock for the general direction the UK is hea...
Delinquency rates in Single Family Residential Mortgages and other Consumer Loans began to climb through the later half of 2016 and early 2017. The timing of this delinquency rate increase coincided almost identically with the Fed increases in their Funds Rate. Additionally, commercial loan origination stalled for the first time since 2008-2011 (prior to that was a stall in 2000). As you’ve been likely been following our daily video market analysis, you’ll know that we believe the market is still in a bullish trend and that we expect this upward price action to continue for a while. These early warning signs that the Fed rate raises may ...
On April 17, 2017 volatility expert Steven Sears wrote an article in Barron’s called “Profiting From the Stock Market’s Latest Fears.” In this piece, Sears recommends that long-term investors take advantage of rising market anxieties by selling put options. The most nervous investors can cope by “…stockpiling cash and buying some bullish call options to control equities they want to buy.” Sears acknowledges that timing is everything with these trades: he particularly advises put sellers to act when they think “fear is peaking.” The period of extremely low volatility has indeed come to an end. When I wrote about the surprisi...