Week of Aug 4 2017 Weekly Recap & The Week Ahead
Monday, August 7th, 2017“when the facts change, I change my mind – what do you do, Sir?” ― John Maynard Keynes
1. Oil Rose Above $50 per Barrell — crude futures briefly rose above $50 for the first time since May after OPEC said it would meet next week to discuss why some nations are falling behind on their pledge to cut production. The gathering in Abu Dhabi will take place on Aug. 7-8. It follows a fourth consecutive week of declines in U.S. crude inventories, and potential sanctions against Venezuela’s oil industry.
2. British American Tobacco Investigated by Serious Fraud Office — the Serious Fraud Office has opened a formal probe into British American Tobacco (NYSEMKT:BTI) over “allegations of misconduct,” while the cigarette maker said it “intends to cooperate with that investigation.” In February last year, BAT announced it had hired lawyers to examine allegations that it bribed officials in east Africa to undermine anti-smoking laws.
3. Dow (DIA) Finishes Above 22K for the First Time — the Dow Jones industrial average topped 22,000, with Boeing (NYSE:BA) contributing much of the latest leg upward, and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) providing the final push. The benchmark has recorded three 1,000-point milestones in 2017. While earnings season contributed to the latest sentiment, Dow industrials are up 20% since Election Day. Finally, while it may seem as though the move from 21K to 22K was quick, at 154 calendar days, it was nearly five times longer than the time that elapsed between 20K and 21K (35 days) and two and a half times longer than the time it took to go from 19K to 20K.
4. Bearish Sentiment Spikes — In this week’s AAII’s weekly sentiment survey update, bearish sentiment spiked from 24.32% up to 32.1%. That’s the highest weekly reading since mid-May and the largest weekly increase since March!
Even though bearish sentiment spiked this week, bullish sentiment also ticked higher, rising from 34.46% up to 36.11%. Ironically, that was also the highest weekly reading for bullish sentiment since early May, but it still marks a record 135th straight week where bulls have not been in the majority.
The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: