Stocks Decline As Traders Wait For Additional Upside Catalysts

  • January 18, 2021 2:34 AM PST
    S&P 500 futures are moving lower in premarket trading as traders
    wait for additional upside catalysts.To get more news about [url=https://www.wikifx.com/]WikiFX[/url], you can visit wikifx official website.

      Today, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on impeachment of
    U.S. President Donald Trump. If the House manages to impeach Trump for
    the second time, the vote will move to the Senate where Republicans
    still have majority.

      While recent days have been turbulent on the political front, markets
    remained mostly calm. It remains to be seen whether investors will react
    to any impeachment news as President-elect Joe Biden will enter office
    on January 20, and a new chapter will begin.

      Crude Inventories Continue To Move Lower, Pushing Oil To New Highs

      WTI oil made an attempt to settle above the $54 level after API Crude
    Oil Stock Change report indicated that crude inventories declined by 5.8
    million barrels compared to analyst consensus which called for a
    decline of 2.7 million barrels.

      Declining inventories and the recent Saudi Arabias decision to cut
    production by 1 million barrels per day (bpd) continue to serve as a
    major bullish catalyst for the oil market.

      Not surprisingly, oil-related stocks have enjoyed solid gains at the
    beginning of this year and look ready to move closer to highs seen back
    in June 2020.

      Inflation Reports Are Mostly In Line With Analyst Estimates

      The U.S. has just provided Inflation Rate and Core Inflation Rate
    reports for December. Inflation Rate increased by 0.4% month-over-month,
    in line with analyst expectations.

      On a year-over-year basis, Inflation Rate grew by 1.4% compared to
    analyst consensus which called for growth of 1.3%. Meanwhile, Core
    Inflation Rate grew by 1.6% year-over-year, in line with analyst
    estimates.

      At this point, there are no signs of serious pressure on the pricing
    front. Traders attention has recently shifted to the U.S. government
    bond market as 10-year Treasury yields rallied from 0.92% to 1.18% in
    just six trading sessions before pulling back towards 1.13%.

      It remains to be seen whether this rally will continue as Fed is
    unlikely to decrease its asset purchases at a time when the economy
    needs more stimulus and inflation remains under control. If yields
    remain at low levels, stocks may get an additional boost.