2 dead Saudi princes, dozens arrested, billionaires' assets frozen, and John McCain calling the tax deal "DOA" - B-T-F-Record-Highs!!
On the day, only one thing made some rational sense - gold outperformed (seemingly suppressed until Europe closed), as perhaps just perhaps some sane individuals reached for a little safe haven asset instead of selling vol (did uncertainty about the future increase of decrease after what happened in Saudi?) and buying stocks...
All the major US equity indices bounced hard off overnight weakness then extended gains trhough the US day... Nasdaq (green) outperformed and Dow (blue) lagged S&_ (red)
With only Trannies red on the day...
The S&P 500 is now within 7 points of Goldman Sachs' 2019 year-end target (yes 2019!).
VIX drifted lower all day in a very small range from a spike open higher but some serious illiquidity was evident in the pre-open...
Vol collapsed in everything last week (but note a small bounce in Oil Vol today). This is a new record low for Rates volatility...
Some chaos today in the media markets as Fox and Disney were reportedly in talks once upon a time and that took the edge of Netflix...
One look at the Saudi stock market tells you what you need to know about 'rigged' markets...
No bounce at all in high yield bonds today...
Treasuries opened higher in yield overnight but were bid from then on, ending down 1-2bps with the long-end outperforming...
The yield curve contonues to flatten...
The Dollar index tumbled today - erasing the post-payrolls gain...
Cable strength was the biggest driver of USD weakness with EUR Unch...
Bitcoin slid today also as USDJPY began to slide, droping from a new record high at $7590 over the weekend to $6932 before bouncing back above $7100 into the US equity market close...
Gold jumped back above its 100-day moving average...
WTI Crude reacted as expected - surging beyond $57 on Saudi uncertainty - the highest since July 2015...
Finally it appears the draw of Copper/Gold reflation signals has lost its mojo once again as 10Y yields turn lower...
So - VIX Up, Stocks Up, Bonds Up, Gold Up, Oil Up... Dollar Down (and Riyal Forwards and Kingdom Holdings crushed)