Bullet Points: Highlights and Announcements
by Mark O’Brien, Senior Broker
Energy:
Options five day a week; it’s not just for stock index futures. Mark your calendars; starting Monday July 22, WTI Crude Oil options will be available with Tuesday and Thursday expirations alongside the already-available Monday, Wednesday and Friday expirations and monthly options. Once in place, along with shorter expirations and lower premiums, WTI Weekly options will provide opportunities to hedge weekend headline risk, OPEC+ meetings or geopolitical events. They can also be used to express views on mid-week announcements, including the weekly E.I.A Petroleum Status Report, typically released on Wednesday.
Financials:
On the interest rate front, some interesting news: in contrast with the wait-and-see mode of the United States, today Sweden followed Switzerland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic in easing monetary policy for the first time since interest rate hiking cycles began in 2022, when inflation surfaced in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. The central bank of Sweden – the Riksbank – lowered its policy rate by 0.25 basis points to 3.75%, making it more likely that the European Central Bank will jump on the bandwagon. The shift is noteworthy as it highlights the current divergence among central banks around the world.
Grains:
Ostensibly the report of the week in an otherwise humdrum 5-day stretch, this Friday the U.S. Department of Agriculture will release its monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report. The report provides annual forecasts for supply and use of U.S. and world wheat, rice, coarse grains, oilseeds, and cotton. The report also covers U.S. supply and use of sugar, meat, eggs and milk. Simultaneously released is the monthly Crop Production report which contains crop production data for the U.S., including crop conditions, acreage, area harvested and yield.
Stock Indexes:
Happy birthday Micro E-mini futures! In 2019, Micro E-mini futures on the four leading equity indices became the most successful launch in CME Group history. In just these first five years, over 2.6 billion contracts have traded. The average daily volume reached over 2.4 million contracts across the four indices (up 355% since 2019). And how about this for global reach: 24% of average daily volume came from outside of the U.S., with trades submitted from 170+ countries.
In just five years, demand and liquidity for Micro E-mini futures have grown significantly from both active individual and institutional traders, creating more possibilities than ever for those seeking new opportunities. These liquid, smaller-sized contracts provide an efficient way to scale equity exposure with precision, while adding versatility to trading strategies.
Daily Levels for May 9th, 2024
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* This is not a solicitation of any order to buy or sell, but a current market view provided by Cannon Trading Inc. Any statement of facts here in contained are derived from sources believed to be reliable, but are not guaranteed as to accuracy, nor they purport to be complete. No responsibility is assumed with respect to any such statement or with respect to any expression of opinion herein contained. Readers are urged to exercise their own judgement in trading.