Yesterday, the US stock indices re-opened after the Christmas break and hit new all-time highs again. The best performer was Nasdaq, with the Composite index breaking above the psychological 9000 mark. For now, the positivity in the US stock market is driven by optimism surrounded around the “Phase 1” trade deal between China and the US. But as we know from the recent past, whenever there is good news coming out from the negotiations, after that we get some worrying headlines, which bring investors back to reality. So far, we are not getting those type of headlines. This could be due to the festive period and to let the markets enjoy its gains. But something that caught the attention yesterday was the fact that the risk asset – Gold – was on a rise as well. The precious metal was able to pop back above the psychological 1500 barrier, as the last time it was there was on November 5th. Normally, gold is seen as a safe-haven when the stock market is not performing well. But maybe this time, investors are trying to be slightly ahead of the game and not to wait until the equity market reverses south. Such precautions are understandable, given that the US indices keep hitting new highs almost every day lately. It is clear that at some point there will be a correction to the downside, but the only issue here is to try and figure out will it be sooner or later?
Retailers are enjoying this time of the year a lot. Although store sales are not at their best levels, online shopping was able to improve the situation. Also, yesterday’s optimism in the...
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