Odd day. Low volume, small range in stocks. Good macro. Some questions over just how 'miraculous' Trump's tax plan will be for the middle-class... but the day's trend across FX, bond, and commodities was set early on when Asia closed and dollar-sellers, bond-buyers, and precious-metal-purchasers came back to play...
Risk is "Contained"...
Yesterday, in its latest triennial Survey of Consumer Finances, the Fed admitted what had been obvious to everyone else: Fed policies unleashed over the past decade have made the rich richer, even as the American middle class has continued to shrink.
In a continuation of trading patterns observed over the previous two days, on Thursday the global bond rout deepened in the aftermath of the release of President Trump’s tax-cut plan, Janet Yellen's recent hawkish comments and renewed optimism over the health of the U.S. economy.
S&P futures are set for a higher open (+ 0.1%) despite the expected hit to the Dow from Nike which is down over 3% on unexpectedly poor revenue growth, as European stocks gain while Asian shares dropped. Like yesterday when the big story was the jump in the USD ahead of Yellen's (rather hawkish) speech, so today the greenback's levitation has continued, this time propelled by today's unveiling of Trump's tax plan.
In what may be the most bizarre development of the day, the WaPo reports that in their ongoing feud with President Trump, the North Korean government has quietly sought the help of an unlikely counterparty: Republicans.