The Markets This Week

This week we point our attention to a variety of events that have been affecting the markets in different ways. First off, there is unrest in the United States surrounding health care. Republicans wish to repeal Obamacare but so far have failed to pass their proposed changes. Trump has put immense pressure on them to settle it today and has threatened to “shame” them if they do not. If the President doesn’t get his way, that would be quite telling and would likely impact US stocks and the USD. Furthermore, there’s been increased turmoil surrounding a new ban on electronics on airplanes coming from several Muslim countries to the US and the UK. Secondly, OPEC is having another meeting to talk about how well countries have been sticking to last year’s agreement to cut production in order to stabilize the market. The level of compliance within OPEC has been admirable for far, but countries like the United States who are not members, nor bound by the agreement, have actually been increasing production, seriously offsetting the efforts of OPEC members. This meeting is on Sunday. Here’s a brief overview of stocks this week: US Stock Futures are on the rise; Dow Jones, S&P 500 & Nasdaq closed flat yesterday; EU markets are somewhat lower; Asian markets are doing better; Federal Reserve speakers in several states will be making statements today; Tech giant Samsung is having a shareholders meeting; We expect a US durable goods report later today. Try to follow the news surrounding your trading instruments of choice because it’s a relatively busy week and many things might cause changes. As long as you stay informed, you can get a jump on any resulting market volatility and make a profit.