Growth Stocks Faded, Q-3 Earnings Kicks off Friday, Mr. Biden's Struggles Hardens President Trump's Support

#stocks #banks #Fed #inflation#DeFi #knights #DAO #NFTs #politicians #GOP #cryptocurrency #MSI #PPI #inflation

$DIA $SPY $QQQ $VXX $USO $GLD $USD $DXY $BTCS $BTCUSD $KNIGHTSUSD

The retreat in growth stocks started just after the open on profit taking, on the notion that growth will underperform value this year. 

DJIA -176.70 to 36113.62, NAS Comp -381.58 to 14806.81, S&P 500 -67.32 to 4659.03

Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 1.4%, the NAS Comp fell 2.5%, the DJIA fell 0.5% and Russell 2000 declined modestly. 

The IT (-2.7%), consumer discretionary (-2.1%), and communication services (-1.4%) sectors underperformed along with the healthcare sector (-1.6%). The utilities (+0.5%), industrials (+0.2%), and consumer staples (+0.2%) sectors were the only sectors that closed higher. 

• DJIA -0.6% YTD

• S&P 500 -2.3% YTD

• Russell 2000 -3.8% YTD

• NAS Comp -5.4% YTD

Key Commodities

WTI Crude Oil settled lower by 0.7%, or $0.56, to $81.96/bbl, Gold futures settled $5.90 lower (-0.3%) to $1,821.40/oz, and the US Dollar Index is -0.1% to $94.82.

The Memes

Losers far outnumbered winners on our meme stock watch list Thursday. But  BTCS (NASDAQ:BTCS) added to its premarket gain of around 30% to trade up nearly 50% in the Noon hr Thursday on little detail.

Cryptocurrencies

Switzerland tests digital currency payments with Top investment banks

Visa Inc has revealed its plans to begin a piloting program with blockchain software company ConsenSys to test central banks’ digital currencies with wallets and cards.

As Bitcoin remains well-off its record highs, advocates are finding glimmers of hope for the world’s largest cryptocurrency by analyzing the makeup of its investors.

Meanwhile, KNIGHTS is just off of $1000/each, as it nears $5-M market cap.

The US Economy

• The December Producer Price Index showed that the index for final demand increased 0.2% month-over-month, while the index for final demand, less foods and energy, increased 0.5%. That left the year-over-year increases on an unadjusted basis at 9.7% and 8.3%, respectively.The Key takeaway from the report is that most categories that saw decreases in December were due to a sharp drop in the price of oil at the end of November. That drop was reversed entirely in December and early January, so these savings will prove to be temporary.

• Initial claims for the week ending January 8 increased by 23,000 to 230,000 from last week's unrevised level while continuing claims decreased by 194,000 to 1.559-M from last wk's revised 1.753-M.The Key takeaway from the report is that roughly half of last wk's increase in claims was owed to higher claims in states like New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Washington, and Michigan. These increases took place as new virus cases in these areas reached record highs.

Looking Ahead: Investors will receive Retail Sales for December, the preliminary University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment for January, Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization for December, and Import and Export Prices for December Friday.

Politics

Mr. Biden is not just failing Americans, he is failing his party, which has been forced to look forward and anticipate the return of President Trump (45). So, it is clear that  lot of Americans are wanting to see the good old days come back again, aka MAGA!

The US Supreme Court issued 2 highly anticipated rulings Thursday, temporarily blocking a Biden administration COVID-19 vaccine mandate for large employers but allowing a separate rule applying only to health care workers at facilities receiving federal funding.

Have a prosperous day, Keep the Faith!