Summing Up The Week

Between the pending G-20 summit and the attacks on oil tankers, the market held a surprisingly stable week without a significant amount of movement one way or another.

Let’s check out the news that did move the markets this week…

Market News

Trump’s Got a Taste for Tariffs

After last week’s tariff threat against Mexico yielded a deal Friday evening, Trump went to town on Monday, threatening China that the tariffs would go into effect immediately if President Xi backs out of attending the upcoming G-20 summit, reported CNBC after the bell on Monday.

Trump is scheduled to meet with Xi at the G-20 summit scheduled for June 28-29 in Osaka, Japan. In an interview with CNBC, Trump said he’d be surprised if Xi did not attend and that he has a “great relationship” with Xi, adding that “he’s actually an incredible guy.”

Trade Talk Takes a Toll 

Comments from Trump about China walking back from April’s trade deal caused the markets to selloff on Tuesday and Wednesday. Trump stated that he’s “the reason a deal isn’t being done,” pointing to 4-5 specific items that China changed its mind about following the last round of trade talks, reported CNBC.

Jobless Claims Rise, Market Rallies

The good cop/bad cop nature of the market hasn’t gone anywhere, with the weekly Jobless Claims Report showed an increase in the number of Americans filing for unemployment causing the market to head higher, reported CNBC on Thursday.

Historically, an increase in unemployment is a bad sign for the economy, however, with the market desiring an interest rate cut from the Fed, bad news continues  to be good news for market action.

Oil Tankers Attacked near Iran

Attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman near Iran were blamed on Iran by the Trump administration on Thursday, reported CNBC.

Naturally, Iran fired back Thursday evening, saying the U.S. has no factual or circumstantial evidence of Iran’s involvement, reported CNBC on Thursday evening.

The international unease caused oil prices to pop 1-4% during the day’s trading, however oil producers and servicers saw their stock prices drop.

Why?

Although a pop in oil prices from increases in demand leads to more profits for the energy sector, international reasons for increasing oil prices causes energy sector companies to drop based on the unknown conditions of the situation.

Next Week’s Gameplan

The market’s return to glory over the last week has taken us back out of the Buying Zone so we’re just biding our time, picking at the rare oversold opportunity or taking profits in overbought stocks on a case-by-case basis.

Between the upcoming Fed Meeting where they decide whether or not to cut interest rates, the G20 summit and the new turmoil in the Middle East, there’s a lot on the horizon that could lead to lower prices so we’re just staying patient, for the moment.

This Week in Play

Stay tuned for this week’s episodes of our Investments in Play and Trades in Play coming online later this weekend! 

Crytpo Corner

Bitcoin Price Action

Bitcoin had quite the interesting week, holding last week’s low of $7427.00 and then breaking through the Line That Shall Not Be Crossed on Wednesday followed by using the line as support on Thursday.

Until momentum carries it through its most recent weekly high of $9090.00 (or it crashes through its $7427 low), it looks like Bitcoin might be range-bound for the moment.

Bitcoin Gameplan

Has the crypto market matured this time around the Bull Market? Bitcoin and many of its compatriots are actually acting… normal?

Pullbacks of 5-10% aren’t unusual in any asset class, especially over a few days, so although we’ve seen a few odd moves, Bitcoin does seem calmer this Bull Market.

That being said, we’re not taking any sudden 30-40% pullbacks off the table in our trade planning. If there’s one thing that’s been consistent about cryptocurrency markets, it’s that there’s no such thing as being consistent.