On the heels of the major international news of the U.S. abduction of the President of a large nation accompanied by military action, asset markets around the world shrugged their shoulders. Indeed, some of the reactions are quite the opposite of what one might expect. For example, if anyone thought seizing Venezuela was all about getting “cheap oil”, take a look at what crude oil futures are going this morning.
I saw many reports about how good this was for the Exxons and Chevrons of the world. Well, yes, pre-market quotes were strong, but those are likewise stumbling (which is particularly strange considering that strong oil typically helps these firms). Here is XOP:
One sector which is benefiting, and which also makes sense, is precious metals, since historically geopolitical instability is good for these ancient assets. Silver has been absolutely berserk for the past six trading sessions, either booming or crashing from day to day. At the moment, silver futures are up about 8%, as is SLV:
Gold’s pattern is more well-formed. The /GC futures are up $135 as I’m typing this, and prices are launching off a very clean basing pattern.
As for equities, they are all green and are generally up about 1% as the “real” trading year commences today. The QQQ is up a single percent, although as you can see from this daily chart it has been directionless from months now.
Zooming in on the recent /NQ futures, a recent and mild downtrend of lower lows and lower highs is still intact.
I’ll close with a photo of my handsome pup taking over Christmas.
