JimHuangChicago

JimHuangChicago Wizard

COMEX: Micro Gold Futures ( COMEX_MINI:MGC1! ) #Microfutures The United States will be implementing new tariffs on Saturday, February 1st, including 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada as well as a 10% duty on all goods from China. These countries are the Top 3 U.S. trading partners, contributing to 40% of all goods and services imported into the US in 2023,...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: Micro E-Mini Nasdaq 100 Futures ( CME_MINI:MNQ1! ) #Microfutures DeepSeek might have changed the landscape of artificial intelligence forever. Since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022, A.I. ran on advanced computer chips and large language models, costing billions for anyone to get in the game. DeepSeek, a Chinese startup, made a competitive A.I. model...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: Micro E-Mini S&P 500 Futures ( CME_MINI:MES1! ) #Microfutures In “A Song of Ice and Fire”, American author George Martin painted a mystical land where dragons spit out flame to destroy a whole city and a winter that last one hundred years. Game of Thrones, the popular HBO TV series, was adapted from Martin’s book. In 2025, we seem to be reliving these...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CBOT: Micro E-Mini Dow Jones Futures ( CBOT_MINI:MYM1! ) #Microfutures The United States will enter a new presidency on Monday, January 20th. Will the stock market continue its upward trend under the 47th U.S. President? Before we set our sight on the future, it’s prudent to look back in history first. While it is not a guarantee for future performance, history...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

NYMEX: Micro Henry Hub Natural Gas Futures ( CME_MINI:MNQ1! ) On December 31, 2024, the lead contract of NYMEX Henry Hub Natural Gas futures closed at $3.6330 per MMBtu. This marked a strong gain of 44.5% year-over-year, making it the best performing active futures contract for the year. Nat Gas is one of the most actively traded commodities. According to CME...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

Question: What was the best performing commodity in 2024? For many of us, the first coming to mind would be Gold. Indeed, gold had a spectacular year driven by geopolitical uncertainty and the central bank reserve buildup. Spot gold hit an all-time-high of $2,788.54 per ounce on October 30, 2024. However, Gold retreated nearly $200 since due to the diminishing...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: Micro E-Mini S&P 500 Futures ( CME_MINI:MES1! ) The Year of the Dragon is quickly approaching the end. If you invested in U.S. stocks, the chances are you have a pretty good year so far. Let’s review how major U.S. stock market indices performed (data as of December 30th): • The blue-chip Dow Jones 30 trading at 42,992 Midday today, up 12.8% in 2024. This is...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

COMEX: Micro Gold Futures ( COMEX_MINI:MGC1! ) On Monday, gold prices tumbled 3% on reports of Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire and the nomination of Scott Bessent as the U.S. Treasury Secretary. Spot gold fell 3.4% to $2,619.43 per ounce. COMEX gold futures shed 3.4% to $2,620.8. As a safe-haven investment, gold holds strong appeal with the rise of geopolitical...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: Micro EUR/USD Futures ( CME_MINI:M6E1! ) All eyes are on the November 5th U.S. presidential election. The stake can’t be higher. A bad outcome could lead to reshaping the balance of world power, an escalation of the geopolitical crises underway, and disrupting the social stability in the U.S. and beyond. Here on TradingView, I want to address this question:...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: Nikkei 225 USD Futures ( CME:NKD1! ) Tokyo: The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported last Friday that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Japan increased 2.5% in September year-on-year, down from 3.0% in August. The CPI excluding fresh food rose 2.4%, down from 2.8%, during the same period. The core inflation measure, which excludes both fresh food and...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: Bitcoin Weekly Futures ( MIL:BFF ) On Thursday, October 10th, The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis, the same increase as in August and July. Over the last 12 months, the all-items index increased 2.4% before seasonal adjustment. However, the...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

On September 24th, China announced an unprecedented fiscal stimulus, aiming to rescue its ailing economy. As soon as the news got out, China’s stock market staged a huge rally. The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) index moved from below 2,800 on September 24th to close at 3,336.5 on September 30th, up 19% in a week. One-month return for the SSE and notable Chinese...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: USD/Offshore RMB Futures ( CME:CNH1! ) Last week, I discussed how China’s huge stimulus package, coupled with the Fed’s supersized rate cut, could improve global energy demand and lift crude oil higher. As soon as the stimulus was announced, China’s stock market staged a huge rally. The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) index moved from below 2,800 on...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

NYMEX: Micro WTI Crude Oil Futures ( NYMEX:MCL1! ) On September 18th, the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rate by a supersized 50 basis points, ushering a long-awaited monetary easing cycle. Six days later, on September 24th, China introduced a broad stimulus package to revive its economy. It includes cutting interest rates, reducing bank reserve requirements,...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: Micro E-Mini Russell 2000 Futures ( GETTEX:M2K ) Global financial market orbits around Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions. Hiking interest rates means monetary tightening while cutting them signals easing. In the past three years, we have witnessed a full cycle of Fed hikes and now its reversal. • In March 2022, as inflation rose rapidly, the Fed...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CBOT: Wheat Futures ( CBOT:ZW1! ) On Friday, July 12th, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE). (Note: The WASDE report is published monthly and provides annual forecasts for global supply and use of wheat, rice, coarse grains, oilseeds and cotton, as well as the U.S. supply...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CME: BTC Futures ( CME:BTC1! ) Bitcoin plunged last week as investors focused on the payout of nearly $9 billion to investors of collapsed bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox. Spot price slumped to as low as $53,513 on Friday, marking the first time that bitcoin traded below the $55K level since Feb. 27th. Another big bitcoin seller is the German government. In January,...

JimHuangChicago Wizard

CBOT: Micro 2-Year Yield ( CBOT_MINI:2YY1! ), Micro 10-Year Yield ( CBOT_MINI:10Y1! ) Last Thursday night, I watched the first Biden-Trump presidential debate live on TV, along with tens of millions of likely voters of the 2024 US presidential election. Who won the debate? According to the exit poll conducted by 538/Ipsos: • 60.1% of the likely voters being...