Dow Jones futures are up despite the on-going riots, looting, and several nights of chaos in the U.S. The Dow Jones industrial average futures are trading higher by over 100 points today while the gold price remains weak, currently trading at $1,721.
Speculators do believe that gold could skyrocket if the slogan “#Trumpdictatorship”, a highly popular and trending hashtag on Twitter yesterday, becomes a reality. This could happen if Trump calls for the full force of the U.S. military to crush riots.
Are Stocks Overvalued?
The Dow Jones index closed higher yesterday, scoring gains of 267 points. The S&P500 index jumped by 0.82%, and the Nasdaq index went up by 0.61%. Investors are primarily focused on the reopening of the US economy and continue to bank on better economic growth.
This comes at a time when the S&P500 futures show that bears are holding the biggest short positions on the U.S. stocks since 2015. This could certainly make the price action a lot uglier in the coming days.
Trump News: Protests and Chaos
In Trump news today, the U.S. President Donald Trump is facing a tremendous and most significant challenge to restore law in the U.S. after several nights of chaos, riots, and looting.
The latest event was triggered after Trump tweet. The incident has prompted bipartisan condemnation from Democrats and Republicans. Not even one Republican governor publicly said yes to Trump’s invitation of sending the military to crush the on-going riots and looting for fears that it would only make the situation worse. Images of police utilizing tear gas and flash-bang devices to disperse protesters before the president walked to the church photo op also adversely impacted his public support.
Trump Ratings Plummet
Trump’s rating is slipping away ahead of the upcoming presidential election, according to a recent poll by Monmouth University. Trump’s approval rating fell to 42% from the previous level of 46%. The public is losing its trust over Trump handling the coronavirus pandemic. Yesterday’s show of force combined with strong words from the president only triggered more protests in Washington, DC, and other cities.
Joe Biden Seized the Opportunity
This crisis made the likely Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden seize the opportunity at hand. In Philadelphia, Biden condemned the president’s move of mudslinging and reminded Trump, “we are all called to love one another as we love ourselves.”
OPEC And Russia: Brent Oil Tops $40
Brent and Crude oil prices have surprised investors since the rally took off when the crude oil’s June contract went negative for the first time in history. At the time, few investors imagined that Crude and Brent oil prices would recover this fast. But the naysayers were wrong, as Brent oil prices have reached a high of $40.53. It’s up another 1.84% today, and Crude oil soared by 2.74%, with the last price at $37.84.
Speculators are betting that the recent agreement between the OPEC+ to curtail the oil supply will be extended by another 1 to 3 months. Russia has previously voiced reluctance to extend the supply cut. However, it has shown willingness to extend the production along with several other nations.
Traders will also be tracking the upcoming crude inventory data that is due later today. The American Petroleum Institute reported a decline of 2.2 million in stockpiles at the storage hub in Cushing. The forecast for today’s crude oil inventory data is +3.0M, while the previous reading was 7.9M.