Comex Gold Delivery Intentions Breakdown - Jan 22

Energy stocks were declining pre-bell Wednesday as the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was 0.4% lower recently.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was down 0.1% and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 0.9% lower.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was unchanged at $75.83 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil lost marginally to $79.28 per barrel, and natural gas futures were down 0.5% at $3.74 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Halliburton shares fell by 0.6% after the company reported lower Q4 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Gold futures rise 0.1% to $2,761.30 a troy ounce. The U.S. price of gold has risen above other international benchmarks due to concerns that President Trump might impose import tariffs on the precious metal, Sprott managing partner Ryan McIntyre says. As he took office this week, Trump deferred the threat of tariffs on China, though tariffs on Mexico and Canada are still likely in the short term. Gold had an exceptional year in 2024, with prices rising by around 27%, and prices now sit close to their all-time record of $2,826.30 a troy ounce set in late October. Sprott anticipates that gold will continue to perform well in 2025 due to many global uncertainties and investor desire for a store of value independent of other assets and institutions, McIntyre writes in emailed commentary. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust was up 0.4% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust advanced 0.9% in Wednesday's premarket activity after President Donald Trump announced an up to $500 billion investment to support AI infrastructure in the US.

US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.5%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.9% before the start of regular trading.

US mortgage applications edged up 0.1% in the week ended Jan. 17 as average 30-year rates eased to 7.02%, Mortgage Bankers Association data showed Wednesday.

The January Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations bulletin and the December leading indicators report will be released at 10 am ET.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was down by 0.7% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF was 0.8% lower.

Power Play:

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund was up 0.2%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund gained 0.6%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF was inactive, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund lost 0.2%. The VanEck Retail ETF was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF was flat.

Procter & Gamble shares were up 3.4% pre-bell after the company reported fiscal Q2 core earnings and revenue that exceeded FactSet analysts' estimates.

Winners and Losers:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund declined 0.4%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund , the iShares US Healthcare ETF and the iShares Biotechnology ETF were inactive.

Abbott Laboratories stock was down 2.3% premarket after the company reported lower-than-expected Q4 net sales.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF was flat, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund was down by 0.3%.

Halliburton stock was down 2.2% before Wednesday's opening bell after the company reported lower Q4 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund retreated 0.1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares was down 0.4%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares gained 0.2%.

Comerica shares were down 2.1% pre-bell Wednesday after the company reported lower-than-expected Q4 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund advanced 0.2% and the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund gained 0.3%, while the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was inactive.

Textron stock was down 1.7% before the opening bell after the company reported lower Q4 adjusted earnings and revenue, with revenue also trailing analysts' expectations.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund advanced 1.2%, and the iShares US Technology ETF was 1.2% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF was up 1.2%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF gained 0.2%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF rose by 1.2%.

Microsoft shares were up 1.5% in recent Wednesday premarket activity after the company said late Tuesday it had partnered with OpenAI to cooperate on Stargate.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil retreated 0.1% to $75.78 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was down 0.1% at $3.75 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund was down 0.2%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund was 0.5% lower.

Gold futures for February advanced 0.3% to $2,767.30 an ounce on the Comex, and silver futures retreated 0.3% to $31.40 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares advanced by 0.6%, while the iShares Silver Trust was 0.3% higher.

Soybeans increased to a 16-week high of 1068.00 USd/Bu.

Over the past 4 weeks, Soybeans gained 10.06%, and in the last 12 months, it decreased 13.91%.

The market will move in the direction of new energy sources, boosted by technological changes, former U.S Secretary of State John Kerry tells Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. President Trump is correct when he flags the need for firm energy, the former U.S. Presidential climate envoy says. "Trump's drill baby drill should be build baby build," he adds. Data centers demand a massive amount of energy, and the type of energy to be used remains uncertain. Currently, China is leading the renewable energy market, and the U.S. needs to compete. However, any progress is stopped by bi-partisan politics, he adds. "The energy crisis seems to have been weaponized." That's why the market will drive energy change supported by technology prices, rather than commodity prices or governments, he says. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

Steel rebar futures eased to CNY 3,280 per tonne on Wednesday, retreating for a third session after hitting a five-week high of CNY 3,330 on January 17th, tracking a wide range of ferrous and base metals traded in China following the threat of incoming trade disruptions.

After refraining from singling tariffs on China, US President Trump signaled his administration may impose a 10% tariff on China in February, limiting demand for metal in the world’s top steel producer.

Still, rebar futures remained well above the near four-month low of CNY 3,120 from January 6th amid an improving consumption backdrop.

Housing prices in China fell the least since August at the end of the year, aligning with signs of traction in the housing market and signs of stronger construction demand following the sharp rebound in the NBS Construction PMI, which rose to 53.2 in December from the record low of 49.7 in November.