Member Info for JohnLewis79

Wall Street's major averages ended down yesterday thanks to a sell off among Nsdq blue chips. On the big board 9 of the top 30 gained led by UH, Chevron & Boeing. Heading down IBM, GS & Walmart. Today will be the last full days trading of '25 as US mrkts will be closed on Jan 1st for New Year's Day.

Nevertheless it has been a bullish year for stocks with the S&P 500 gaining 17% and the NSDQ up 21%. The Russell 2000 added 6% on the year and the Dow 14% making a 4 timer of gains. Nvidia ($187) topped the league of bigest companies by mrkt cap ($4•566tn) ahead of Apple, Google, Msoft & Amazon.

Commodities were the sector to have been invested as silver, gold, platinum & copper hit record highs and continued to push higher on Tuesday after a sell off blip earlier in the week where gold lost $200 and silver fell $12. If you had bought Gold ($2620) or silver ($30) at the start of the year you have done very well.

Oils have been a drag opening the year at $73 and underperforming other commodities by c.18% and have traded in a range of $58-$83 this year. Currently there is a 3•84m bopd glut in the system which analysts say will rebalance shortly. Not quite in the safe haven asset class more a hedge against other commodities.

Nyse data

Issues 2841

Advances 1314

Declines 1443

U/c 84

NH 48

NL 22

T/vol(bn) 0•80

-------------

DJ -95 (48,367)

SP -9 (6896)

NS -63 (25,463)

R2 -11 (1486)

WTI $58

10ytb 4•127%

-----------

MSCI(W) -12 (4458)

Gold Bugs +6 (712)

---------------

Latest :- Vix 14. Brent $61.

Gold $4311. Copper $5•711.

Palm $989. Silver $71.000.

$1•346. €1•147.

FF -21. DF -53.

Morning all.

Wall's main indexes ended lower yesterday as large cap techs pulled back from last weeks gains. Investors await the next set of Fed Res minutes and weekly jobless claims due later this week.

Analysts say the mrkts enter the final 2 sessions of the year above key trend levels with the 50DMA around $497 and the 200DMA c.$509. Shares are 8•5% below the 52wk high and 24% above the 52wk low. On the Dow 9/30 gained led up by Disney, Walmart & Chevron. Heading lower GS, Amex and JPMC propped up the laggards. In after hours trading GS fell $15 to $892 the bigest faller on the Dow dragging down Morgan Stanley ($180) and other banks. The 4 major indexes are set to end 2025 up an average 14•5% with the Nsdq as top gainer up 21•5%.

Among commodities Gold & Silver prices came under concerted selling pressure falling to their lowest one day drops since Jan 1980. However prices seem to have stabilised with silver at $74•50 & gold jumping $46 to $4370 this morning.

Nyse data

Issues 2838

Advances 1025

Declines 1711

U/c 102

NH 41

NL 27

T/vol(bn) 0•90

------------

DJ -249 (48,462)

SP -24 (6906)

NS -119 (25,526)

R2 -7 (1497)

WTI $58

10ytb 4•119%

----------

Latest :- Vix 14. Brent $61.

Gold $4364. Copper $5•703.

Palm $987. Silver $73•970.

$1•351. €1•147.

FF +10. DF -9.

Morning all.

Markets re-opened after the Christmas break on a mixed note in very thin trading as they enter the final phase of the year. Mrkts will remain shut on Thursday for NY and some will have a shortened session on Wednesday.

In Tokyo at the morning close the 225 was down 205 led by big caps Panasonic, Canon & Japan Tobacco. Among the few gainers Fukikura, Sumitomo and Itochu Corp gained c.5%. In late trade the 225 had slipped 315 points to 50,423 but will end the year up c.26%.

In Sydney the ASX200 slipped 16 in early dealings as many dealers stayed away. Miners were mostly better but banks and healthcare remained subdued. At the close the ASX200 was down 37 at 8726 but looks certain to end 2025 up c.7%, by no means one of the better Stock Exchange performers.

Shanghai and Hong-Kong stocks were little changed heading into the afternoon with Shanghai's PetroChina, China Construction Bank & Luxshare Precison up c. 2-5%. Hongkong was down 80 on small lot selling by private investors though Taiwan and S.Korea are trading higher. S.Korea in particular has had an astonishing year up over 75% just short of an all-time record close. Other Pan Pacificas were mostly seeing sellers on book squaring ahead of the New Year.

Gold and silver prices remain in a solid upward trend with little resistance seen. Gold cleared the $4381 top entering a record high zone. Dealers worry the mrkt has become over'heated and profit takers were active in HK as gold slipped below $4500.

Latest :- Vix 14. Brent $61.

Gold $4485. Copper $5•903.

Palm $1001. Silver $79•70.

$1•349. €1•147. 10ytb 4•14%

FF +6. DF u/c.

Morning all.

What a crazy day of cricket (88-8) Latest..... might get a few overs at Aus by close. So all is not lost yet! But I sure wouldn't bet on it.

With most of my baubles invested in MSi i am very dependent on the Co performing well next year. Despite some unease due to the delayed H/Y nos i hope the Co has managed to find a buyer for the petrol stations etc...which should give a decent boost to 2026.

MSi has performed very well this year up some 60% and you would have taken that on Jan 2nd!! While Aim's All share has gained just 6%,

the ftse 100 topped the UK indexes up 21%, the All share up 19% and the 250 gaining 8%. With 3 days trading left in 2025 its unlikely the nos will change much.

Rarely does the UK All share (600 stocks) outperform the S&P500 but this year it has done so, if only marginally.

Trading vols were thin as US mrkts close at 1:00pm ET today and will remain so until Wednesday 29/12. All 4 indexes posted solid gains as 6/11 S&P 500 sectors traded higher with healthcare leading the way while energy lagged. Gold and silver hit fresh intra-day records but later came off highs as profit takers moved in.

In the year ahead global mrkts will be closely watched as to who might replace Fed Chair Powell after Trump said that anyone who disagrees with him will never become Fed Chairman. Kevin Hassett is the current bookie favourite to replace Powell.

Among stocks Nike ($60) climbed 5% after Apple CEO Tim Cook bought $3m of shares nearly doubling his holding. Intel ($36) fell 2% after a report said Nvidia has halted the manufacturing process & testing of Intels 18A chip making node.

In other Nvidia news the company has agreed to buy 9 year old start up Co Groq a designer of high performance Ai chips for $20bn cash its largest purchase ever. At the end of October Nvidia had $60•6bn in cash and short term investments. Bigest gainer among second liners was Dynavax Tech ($15) surging 39% after French drug maker Sanofi said it would buy the US vaccines Co for $2•2bn.

On the Dow 27/30 stocks gained led up by Nike, Merck & Disney. Heading down though little changed Nvidia ($189) and Chevron ($150). The S&P 500 posted 6 new 52 wk highs and no new lows.

Nyse data

Issues 2818

Advances 1841

Declines 854

U/c 123

NH 91

NL 20

T/vol(bn) 0•430

-------------

DJ +288 (48,731)

SP +22 (6932)

NS +68 (25,656)

R2 +6 (1505)

WTI $58

10ytb 4•135%

----------

MSCI(W) +10 (4474)

Gold Bugs -6 (738)

---------------

Close :- Vix 13. Brent $62.

Gold $4479. Copper $5•573.

Palm $991. Silver $71•880.

FF -3. DF u/c.

Morning all.

Today mrkts will be open for a half day session. London will re'open on Monday the 29th Dec ending the year on Wednesday the 31st Dec.

US stocks had a good day heading into the Christmas break as gold topped ($4500) and silver ($72) hit an all-time high. Copper mostly used in electric vehicle batteries and solar panels hit a record price of $12,160 per ton. With economic data beating forecasts mrkts are set to go into 2026 on a positive note off'setting recent worries about stretched tech values.

Traders in NY pushed the 500 to an all time closing high in response to figs showing the world's largest economy expanded 4•3% in Q3, the fastest pace in 2 years. However cause for thought the gauge of consumer spend fell for the 5th straight month to its lowest level since Feb 2021 due to a more pessimistic view of the labour mrkt and business conditions.

On the Dow 20/30 stocks gained headed by Nvidia, JPMC and Amazon. McDonald's led the laggards followed by Walmart & J&J. Nvida valued at $4•606tn retains its top spot on the world's bigest companies rankings list ahead of Apple & Google. The widely followed Vix, also known as the fear gauge is on track to finish 2025 at its lowest level. A low vix reading indicates investors are feeling confident about 2026.

Brent crude rose to $61 with WTI at $58 however both measures look set to end 2025 at prices lower than when they first started the year ($73 & $70) respectively. Gold and silver prices cont to hit records almost on a daily basis. One factor adding to demand for gold is that central banks globally are expanding their own physical holdings as a way to counter economic turbulence and reduce reliance on the USD.

Wk 52

Nyse data

Issues 2840

Advances 1143

Declines 1581

U/c 116

NH 125

NL 47

T/vol(bn) 0•9

-------------

DJ +80 (48,442)

SP +31 (6910)

NS +126 (25,588)

R2 -8 (1499)

WTI $58

10ytb 4•165%

-----------

MSCI(W) +50 (4464)

Gold Bugs +3 (743)

---------------

Latest :- Vix 14. Brent $62.

Gold $4494. Copper $5•583.

Palm $988. Silver $72•325.

$1•351. €1•146.

FF -1. DF -19.

Morning all.

Oh yes revisited on many occasions one of my all time fav series! Check out that one filmed mostly in a pub i think a BBC series with Craig Cash, got it 'Early Doors' a must watch!!! The two coppers in it are hilarious.

Undecided where im going for Christmas might just stay put at home. Doesn't mean a great deal to me these days. Anyways best of everything for the holiday and New Year festivities and see you on the other side.....

Anyone remember when our wonderful astute ex Chancellor Gordon Brown sold off 395 tons of our gold reserves for $3•5bn which may have seemed a great deal in the 2000's. Many advised against.... saying never sell gold.

But, Broon being the dour Scotsman ploughed ahead putting much of the proceeds into Govt Bonds. This resulted in one of the worst financial decisions in British political history which landed up costing the nation billions. Clever clogs Broon from Troon sold at an average price of $275 an ounce.

The POG has risen 16x since then yet Broon from Troon continues to parade himself as the saviour of labour party economic policy thinking. Never discount an idiot attempting to re'live past ignominies.

On Wall St stocks moved higher extending the upward move seen over the last 2 sessions. Though finishing off highs the 4 main indexes ended firmly in positive territory and are currently set to end 2025 up an av 14%. Considerably out pacing US inflation of 2•68% now at its lowest level in 5 years. Trump has unquestionably delivered on that when you remember the 9% Biden era inflation rate.

Of the Dow 30 top stocks 20 ended the day better led by Merck, JPMC & Salesforce while Nike, Walmart & Honeywell propped up the decliners with low single fig falls. Despite the mrkts momentum appearing to have stalled in Dec with the 500 sitting on a small monthly gain that doesn't mean a 'Santa Rally' won't materialise which could set the tone for mrkts heading to the New Year.

'If Santa Claus should fail to call, bears may come to Broad and Wall' is a popular old mrkt adage. Since 1950 the index still finished the Santa Rally period higher in 20/26 instances or 77% of the time.

On the economic front headwinds are still out there as over the past weeks have showed signs of cooling inflation and slower jobs growth in Nov. This could pressure Powell into cutting rates as soon as January getting the stock mrkt off to a bright start to the year as Jan is traditionally a weak month for the S&P500.

Gold started the year worth $2600 but geo political tensions, Trump tarrifs, the Ukraine war and recent military conflict with Venezuela have boosted investor demand for the gold stuff as a safe haven to park their money. The POG has risen more than 68% this year the highest y-o-y increase since 1979 and currently in record territory ($4474).

Nyse data

Issues 2847

Advances 1737

Declines 1016

U/c 94

NH 143

NL 40

T/vol(tn) 1•1

------------

DJ +228 (48,363)

SP +44 (6878)

NS +116 (25,462)

R2 +11 (1507)

WTI $58

10ytb 4•260%

----------

MSCI (W) -29 (4414)

Gold Bugs +23 (740)

----------------

Latest :- Vix 14. Brent $62.

Gold $4475. Copper $5•509.

Palm $977. Silver $69•725.

$1•349. €1•145.

FF -8. DF -24.

Morning all.

Asian mrkts are higher at the start of Christmas week trading boosted by gains in tech stocks and positive cues from Wall St overnight. All 4 of the major Dow indexes gained on Friday making for a bright start in Asia this morning.

In Sydney the ASX200 has added to early gains moving above the 8500 level. The Aussie index is up 79 in late pm trade after hitting a high of 8709 as major miners BHP & RTZ are top of investor buy lists. Oils are better with Beach Energy and Santos leading the way. Techs and banks are all being bought ahead of the short trading week. After a flat afternoon of trading the ASX added 79 at 8700 some 400 points below its 52 wk high of 9115.

Tokyo is sharply higher taking cues from Wall St on Friday, trading above the 50,400 level at the morning close. The 225 ended up 881 at 50,388 helped by major stock Softbank gaining over 7%. Autos, major exporters and banks are being bought with Toppan Hldgs surging 7% with Sumitomo and Resonac Hldgs gaining over 6% each.

In the currency mrkts the USD trades in the lower 157 yen range. Elsewhere in Asia mrkts track the Nikkei's advance as HK & Shanghai mark time. As of today all Asian stock exchanges are up this year.

Gold hit a new all-time peak of $4384 in early deals boosted by a weak USD making gold more attractive to international buyers. Gold a traditional safe haven asset is up 67% for the year.

Not to be outdone Silver ($69) is up over 127% ytd with platinum hot on its heels in 2nd place. Over 50% of retail traders predict silver repeat as top metal riser in 2026 on expectations the Fed will cut rates twice in 2026.

Latest :- Vix 15. Brent $61.

Gold $4402. Copper $5•489.

Palm $954. Silver $68•685.

$1•400. €1•143. 10ytb 4•17%

FF -3. DF +33.

Morning all.

Not a bad week for holders the shares gaining 170 to 1400-1430. No idea as to vols as all these zero trades make it impossible to calculate and meaningless.

The shares still trade down on intra-day highs of 1680 seen in mid November.

Trading will cont to Wed 24th Dec a half day and

will re'open on Monday, 29th Dec and end the year on Wednesday 31st Dec.

Sp 1430

1/25 910

H 1680

L 770

Ytd +57%

7/88 113

----

100 +21%

250 +8%

All +19%

Aim +5%

---

Vix -14%

Gold +66%

Oil -19%

Palm -14%

----

DJ +13%

SP +16%

NS +21%

R2 +6%

--

Wk 51

-----

Nyse data

Issues 2843

Advances 1424

Declines 1338

U/c 81

NH 106

NL 38

T/vol(tn) 3•9

-------------

DJ +183 (48,135)

SP +60 (6834)

NS +327 (25,346)

R2 +4 (1496)

WTI $57

10ytb 4•144%

----------

MSCI(W) +30 (4382)

Gold Bugs +19 (71 7) R

-----------------

Close :- Vix 15. Brent $61.

Gold $4338. Copper $5•483.

Palm $954. Silver $67•395.

Yen 158. Yuan 7•04.

$1•338. €1•142.

FF -14. DF +22

Morning all.

Wall Street's main indexes rebounded from 3 wk lows closing higher as a soft inflation report raised hopes for an int rate cut in the New Year. Micron Technologies blow out forecasts boosted investor sentiment which has been flagging of late.

Stocks in the news inc Lululemon which gained 4% on a report activist investor Elliott has acquired a $1bn stake in the athletic wear company. Shares closed at $215. Among techs Micron ($251) jumped 10% as the company said profits would be double most forecasts due to soaring memory chip prices and demand from Ai data centers. Others in the sector SanDisk ($221) & Western Digital ($176) also rose.

Of particular note loss making Trump Media & Technology shot up $41% to $14 after agreeing to merge in a deal worth $6bn with Google backed TAE a private company. The move would create the world's first publicly traded fusion company. The All stock 50/50 deal is an ambitious bet on the power boom and will add to his families growing roster of diverse ventures from crypto to real estate and mobile services.

Losses in the company increased to $55m up from $19m in same Q'24.

On the DJI 14/30 rose on the session led up by Amazon, Nvidia & Msoft. Going down P&G, Chevron and Verizon. The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52 wk highs, no new lows. Vols traded on US exchanges was 16•9bn compared to the 20 day average of 17bn.

Nyse data

Issues 2846

Advances 1732

Declines 1033

U/c 81

NH 100

NL 38

T/vol (tn) 1•3

-------------

DJ +66 (47,952)

SP +53 (6775)

NS +372 (25,019)

R2 +3 (1492)

WTI $56

10ytb 4•148%

----------

MSCI(W) +30 (4382)

Gold Bugs u/c (698)

----------------

Latest :- Vix 17. Brent $60.

Gold $4322. Copper $5•463.

Palm $969. Silver $65•280.

$1•337. €1•141.

FF -37. DF -160.

Morning all.

Imo it won't be long before lse stops reporting all trades on their website as they have become of no interest to holders of the shares due to all these 0 reported trades. It strikes me this is what the market makers want mostly to disguise trading volumes from their competitors. In small cap stocks i can see the advantages but among the ftse100 forget it!

Eventually their will be zero on line information as to trading volumes or the nos of actual trades on your share portfolios and you will have to go through a tortured procedure to establish your ownership. All part of the 'keeping us buggers' in the dark and d'em f*****s in the know.

Have you recently tried to log on to a website without being asked to sign your life away? This might sound like the ramblings of a grumpy old git and I wouldnt blame you for thinking that, but check out the stumbling blocks since the days of ringing your broker and placing an order.

Ok mobs have improved the ease of trading on line......until you hit a problem and then your in a whole world of pain. Trust me you ain't seen nuffink yet!

Traders were reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the US consumer price inflation report. On Wall stocks started the day on a bullish note hitting a days high of 48,387 but soon came under selling pressure and spent the rest of the session in negative territory struggling to close above the days low of 47,856.

The tech heavy NSDQ bore the brunt of selling knocking 485 off the index to a session low of (24,647) as nervous investors cont to sell into any mrkt rise. On the big board 14/30 stocks gained led by Chevron, P&G and McDonald's. On the losers board CAT & Nvidia contributed most to the intra-day decline combining for a 200 points drag on the Dow. CAT tumbled $27 to $562 while Nvidia lost $7 to $171.

Since the Thanksgiving Holidays the Nsdq has tumbled over 900 points mainly due to urgings from guru investor Buffet over inflated tech stock values. The P/E ratio on the NSDQ 100 is c.33-34x earnings compared to the S&P's 25 to 26x and the UK All share 19x.

Historically the NSDQ has a higher p/e mainly due to growth expectations. For instance Nvidia has seen huge spikes reaching over 80x earnings in recent years. Current p/e number is in the mid 40s range while Apple ($272) averages around 35x and Msoft ($478), c.33x.

Gold prices are flat in morning trade but silver cont to best new all-time highs of $66•65. Demand from the expanding solar, electric vehicles and data center sectors has been mostly responsible for silvers 100%+ rise to date.

WTI crude for Jan stabilised around $56 after Trump ordered a complete blockade of sanctioned oil tankers in Venezuela. He has demanded Venezuela return all of the oil, land and other assets that they previously stole from us ramping up pressure on leader Maduro branding his Govt a 'foreign terrorist organisation.'

Nyse data

Issues 2839

Advances 1214

Declines 1518

U/c 107

NH 67

NL 33

T/vol(tn) 1•3

------------

DJ -228 (47,886)

SP -79 (6721)

NS -485 (24,648)

R2 -4 (1489)

WTI $56

10ytb 4•145%

-----------

MSCI(W) -41 (4352)

Gold Bugs +5 (698)

---------------

Latest :- Vix 18. Brent $60.

Gold $4335. Copper $5•389.

Palm $965. Silver $66•520.

$1•336. €1•138.

FF +2. DF -37.

Morning all.

A better day for holders of MSi yesterday likely due in part to shorters getting caught out. However how sustainable is the rise?

Heading into the New Year i dont expect to see any significant changes in the sp. The delayed results may prove a different matter. In my limited experience changes to report timetables rarely turn out for the better. However on this occasion I think the news will be positive with news of petrol stations etc, being sold. There was no MSi Santa Rally last year the shares falling 120 in December to end the year at 910 having started at 850.

Sluggish US jobs data failed to boost expectations for further int rate cuts in the near future. Stocks on the street continued to experience choppy trading following the lackluster performance seen yesterday. The Nsdq rose 54 while the 3 other major indexes fell back led by a 302 points fall on the Dow impacted by declines in healthcare and energy counters.

On the big board 10/30 closed better led by small price gains in Disney, Nvidia & Boeing while heading down UH, Chevron & J&J. Eight of the S&P 500 sectors closed lower with energy off 3% and WTI crude hit its lowest level since 2021 at c.$57.

Among stocks Pfizer ($25) slipped 3•4% after the drug maker forecast a difficult 2026 due to weaker sales of covid-19 products. Humana ($258) fell 6% after the healthcare insurer announced unspecified leadership changes. Most analysts have an outperform rating on the stock.

A delayed Labour Dept report showed non farm payrolls increased by 64,000 in Nov and the unemployment rate rose to 4•6% in Nov. Retail sales were flat in October. In the oil sector US inventories showed a net decrease of just 9•2m boe for the year. Gold continues its bullish trend with inflation remaining a significant driver of prices particularly in cities like Chennai where prices are surging above INR 60,000 per 10g. However its not the case everywhere. For instance in Vietnam prices for gold bars and rings are notably lower. A nos of influential analysts see a big drop in gold into 2026 to as low as $3800.

Declining issues outpaced advances by c.1•6:1 with the S&P posting 14 new 52 wk highs and 5 new lows on below average vols of 16•7bn.

Nyse data

Issues 2841

Advances 1045

Declines 1703

U/c 93

NH 56

NL 40

T/vol(tn) 1•3

-------------

DJ -302 (48,114)

SP -16 (6800)

NS +66 (25,133)

R2 -11 (1494)

WTI $56

10ytb 4•173%

----------

MSCI(W) -16 (4393)

Gold Bugs -4 (693)

---------------

Latest :- Vix 16. Brent $60.

Gold $4330. Copper $5•414.

Palm $966. Silver $66•060.

$1•339. €1•142.

FF +25. DF +13

Morning all.

US investors await the release of retail sales, non farm payrolls for Oct & Nov and inflation data this week.

In early dealings stocks moved 200 higher before profit takers trimmed gains leaving the Dow little changed.

Of the 11 S&P sectors 8 rose led by healthcare while infotech slipped 1% dragged lower by ServiceNow which fell 12% after reports the cybersecurity company is in advanced talks to buy the privately held Amis in a potential deal worth $7bn. In other news Tesla gained 4% after Musk said the EV maker was testing its robotaxis without safety monitors in the front passenger seat.

Bigest faller on the session was IRobot which has filed for bankruptcy protection after the Roomba vacuum cleaner fell 73% to $1•18. The company has agreed to be bought out by Chinese lender & supplier Picea Robotics. Amazon a few years ago offered $1•4bn for IRobot. As of Sept '25 the companies inventory totalled $141m.

In an exclusive report from Nsdq HQ home to tech giants are planning to roll out round-the-clock trading in stocks due to demand for non stop 5 day trading on the US mrkts which represent 66% of the value of listed companies globally.

It's expected to start non stop 5 day trading from H2 2026 in 2 set periods. The daily session starting at 4:00am and ending at 8:00pm with a 1 hour break for clearing trades & maintenance. The night session will start at 9:00pm ending at 4:00am the following day.

Nyse data

Issues 2848

Advances 1377

Declines 1370

U/c 101

NH 117

NL 37

T/vol(tn) 1•3

-------------

DJ -41 (48,417)

SP -11 (6817)

NS -129 (25,067)

R2 -5 (1504)

WTI $57

10ytb 4•175%

----------

Latest :- Vix 16. Brent $60.

Gold $4287. Copper $5•341.

Palm $980. Silver $62•740.

$1•337. €1•137.

FF -32. DF -150.

Morning all.