Stocks Fall after Chinese Trade Data; Dollar Holds Gains

Equities

US stock futures tumbled during the Asian session as China reported the December trade data. The trade balance showed a surplus of $57.06 Billion versus an expectation of $51.53 Billion. However, exports dropped by 4.4%, and imports declined by 7.6%. The data signal that the Chinese trade activity is facing a slowdown and this affected the stocks and commodity currencies negatively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 0.7% to 23730, the S&P500 futures tumbled 0.6% to 2572, and the Nasdaq futures fell 0.8% to 6533.

USD

The dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies was almost unchanged at 95.65 to defend Friday's gains. DXY ended the fourth consecutive week in red, as the expectations that the Federal Reserve will not be able to further tighten its monetary policy in 2019 weighed on the greenback. The December Core CPI YoY was at 2.2% as prior, while the December CPI YoY fell to 1.9% from 2.2%. The USDCHF was flat at 0.9835, and the EURUSD dropped to $1.1460.

Metals

Metals prices were almost unchanged as the dollar held gains. The gold ounce traded near $1293 ahead of the $1300 psychological level, while silver steadied near $15.60, and Palladium held the $1315 level.

Oil

Oil prices drifted lower on concerns over the global economic activity. The West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped to a low of $50.67, while the Brent futures sank below $60 to a low of $59.54. The energy services firm Baker Hughes reported that the US oil rig count dropped to 873 from 877 last week.  

Major Economic Events

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