The major US stock indices are opening up with mixed results. The Dow is up marginally. The S&P is down marginally and the NASDAQ is leading the way with a decline of about -0.5%.
A snapshot of the market currently shows:
- Dow industrial average up 32.91 points or 0.10% at 34616.49
- S&P -5.79 points or -0.13% at 4494.41
- NASDAQ index -66.42 points or -0.41% at 13830.88
- Russell 2000 -0.41 points or -0.02% at 20109.38
US yields are trading higher with the:
- 2 year 2.52%, +5.6 basis points
- 10 year 2.709%, +5.0 basis points
- 30 year 2.71%, +2.6 basis points
In other markets:
- Spot gold Gold Gold is the most widely traded and important commodity. Prized for its historical importance and used for trading an exchange of goods, the gold market today is estimated at nearly $2.4 trillion.The value of gold fluctuates constantly, as it trades on public exchanges where it has a price that is determined by supply and demand. Gold has historically had tremendous significance and even today is extremely sought after. Gold has been used as a currency as it doesn't corrode, and the material allows for some absorption of light creating a yellow glow, which lends the name yellow metal.Ultimately, institutional and retail investors buy and sell gold contracts or physical gold, thus creating the demand and supply flow.This can be pure speculation, to acquire or distribute physical gold, or as a hedge for commercial application. For day-traders, the purpose of trading gold is to profit from its daily price movements.How to Trade GoldDay-trading gold is speculating on its short-term price movements. Of note, physical gold is not actually handled or taken possession of, rather the transactions take place electronically and only profits or losses are reflected in the trading account.There are a number of ways to ultimately trade gold. Retail brokers typically offer exposure to gold through contracts-for-difference (CFDs).Beyond retail brokers, the main way to trade gold is via a futures contract. This represents an agreement to buy or sell something, i.e. gold at a future date. Buying a gold futures contract doesn't mean you actually have to take possession of the physical commodity.Day traders close out all contracts (trades) each day and make a profit based on the difference between the price they bought the contract and the price they sold it at. However, on a futures exchange, gold moves in $0.10 increments only. This increment is known as a tick. It is the smallest movement a futures contract can make. If you buy or sell a futures contract, how many ticks the price moves away from your entry price determines your profit or loss. Gold is the most widely traded and important commodity. Prized for its historical importance and used for trading an exchange of goods, the gold market today is estimated at nearly $2.4 trillion.The value of gold fluctuates constantly, as it trades on public exchanges where it has a price that is determined by supply and demand. Gold has historically had tremendous significance and even today is extremely sought after. Gold has been used as a currency as it doesn't corrode, and the material allows for some absorption of light creating a yellow glow, which lends the name yellow metal.Ultimately, institutional and retail investors buy and sell gold contracts or physical gold, thus creating the demand and supply flow.This can be pure speculation, to acquire or distribute physical gold, or as a hedge for commercial application. For day-traders, the purpose of trading gold is to profit from its daily price movements.How to Trade GoldDay-trading gold is speculating on its short-term price movements. Of note, physical gold is not actually handled or taken possession of, rather the transactions take place electronically and only profits or losses are reflected in the trading account.There are a number of ways to ultimately trade gold. Retail brokers typically offer exposure to gold through contracts-for-difference (CFDs).Beyond retail brokers, the main way to trade gold is via a futures contract. This represents an agreement to buy or sell something, i.e. gold at a future date. Buying a gold futures contract doesn't mean you actually have to take possession of the physical commodity.Day traders close out all contracts (trades) each day and make a profit based on the difference between the price they bought the contract and the price they sold it at. However, on a futures exchange, gold moves in $0.10 increments only. This increment is known as a tick. It is the smallest movement a futures contract can make. If you buy or sell a futures contract, how many ticks the price moves away from your entry price determines your profit or loss. Read this Term is trading up seven dollars or 0.36% at $1937.77
- Crude oil is trading up seven cents at $96.10
- Bitcoin Bitcoin Bitcoin is the largest and world’s first digital currency launched back in 2009 by the entity, Satoshi Nakamoto. Being a digital currency, a defining feature of Bitcoin is that it functions without a central bank or single administrator. Rather, Bitcoin instead can be sent by peer-to-peer (P2P) networking, which is itself absent of any intermediaries.Instead of being a physical currency, Bitcoins represent pieces of digital code that can be sent and received across a kind of distributed ledger network called a blockchain. As Bitcoins are not issued or backed by any governments or central banks, it is considered to be legal tender. Transactions on the Bitcoin network are confirmed by a network of computers (or nodes) that solve a series of complex equations. This process is called Bitcoin mining. In exchange for Bitcoin mining, computers receive rewards in the form of new Bitcoins. Over time, mining grows increasingly difficult, leading subsequent rewards to become smaller and smaller. Given the structure of code, there will only ever be 21 million Bitcoins in existence. However, as of 2020, there were already 18.3 million Bitcoins in circulation. Bitcoin Making HistorySince its launch back in 2009, Bitcoin has remained the most popular and largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap in the world. Its popularity has also contributed significantly to the release of thousands of other cryptocurrencies, that are now known as altcoins. At its inception, the crypto market was originally hegemonic, though presently the landscape contains countless altcoins.Bitcoin has also been controversial since its original launch. It has been heavily criticized for its use in illegal transactions and money laundering given its decentralized nature.As Bitcoin is impossible to trace, this makes the cryptocurrency an ideal target for illicit behavior. Critics also point to its high electricity consumption for mining, rampant price volatility, and thefts from exchanges. Bitcoin has been seen by some as a speculative bubble given its lack of oversight. Bitcoin is the largest and world’s first digital currency launched back in 2009 by the entity, Satoshi Nakamoto. Being a digital currency, a defining feature of Bitcoin is that it functions without a central bank or single administrator. Rather, Bitcoin instead can be sent by peer-to-peer (P2P) networking, which is itself absent of any intermediaries.Instead of being a physical currency, Bitcoins represent pieces of digital code that can be sent and received across a kind of distributed ledger network called a blockchain. As Bitcoins are not issued or backed by any governments or central banks, it is considered to be legal tender. Transactions on the Bitcoin network are confirmed by a network of computers (or nodes) that solve a series of complex equations. This process is called Bitcoin mining. In exchange for Bitcoin mining, computers receive rewards in the form of new Bitcoins. Over time, mining grows increasingly difficult, leading subsequent rewards to become smaller and smaller. Given the structure of code, there will only ever be 21 million Bitcoins in existence. However, as of 2020, there were already 18.3 million Bitcoins in circulation. Bitcoin Making HistorySince its launch back in 2009, Bitcoin has remained the most popular and largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap in the world. Its popularity has also contributed significantly to the release of thousands of other cryptocurrencies, that are now known as altcoins. At its inception, the crypto market was originally hegemonic, though presently the landscape contains countless altcoins.Bitcoin has also been controversial since its original launch. It has been heavily criticized for its use in illegal transactions and money laundering given its decentralized nature.As Bitcoin is impossible to trace, this makes the cryptocurrency an ideal target for illicit behavior. Critics also point to its high electricity consumption for mining, rampant price volatility, and thefts from exchanges. Bitcoin has been seen by some as a speculative bubble given its lack of oversight. Read this Term is trading down $630 at $42,821
The USD has moved higher in early New York trading and remained in the strongest of the major currencies. The flow of funds is out of the riskier NZD and AUD (they are the weakest).
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