Gold Silver Reports ~ Today was repeat of yesterday’s session in that markets sold off most of the day but managed a better recovery during the last hour by closing only slightly below the unchanged line. Apparently the bulls are still alive and putting up a fight during these tug-of-war sessions.
* The energy sector ended up being the worst performer, followed by telecommunications and financials. The tech sector rallied early on but lost its momentum as the FANG stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google) got spanked again for the second day in a row with Netflix being the only gainer for the day.
* At the open, the domestic markets had to live with the fact that the Nikkei Average had lost 5.4%, its biggest decline since 2013 while the 10-year Japanese bond yield fell below zero for the first time. Much of the focus is on Asia this week (with China being closed), however, let’s not forget the banking debacle in Europe where some of the Italian banks are suffering from a constantly increasing amount of NPLs (Non Performing Loans).
* Not to be outdone, Deutsche Bank (DB), the German behemoth with over $60 trillion in derivatives, is in dire straits and has been in the cross-hairs for all kinds of trouble while its stock price has dropped to records lows. Some have compared DB to having a “Lehman moment,” a reference to the firm that brought about the 2008 financial crisis.
* 4 of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight ended up on the plus side, while 6 of them dropped below the unchanged line. Leading the charge was Healthcare (XLV) with +0.74% while the Global 100 (IOO) was the loser of the day with -0.71%. ~ Neal Bhai Reports
