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Light Holiday Trading Evident Today

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PREMIUM MEMBERS

Most major markets are closed today in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. day here in the United States. Both the bond markets as well as U.S stocks are closed today as they observe the holiday.

This holiday was enacted into law in 1983 by President Reagan and officially established in 1986. Originally the major exchanges were open for trading however they observed a minute of silence at noon. This all changed in January 1998 when both the NASDAQ and New York Stock Exchange enacted a policy of closing the markets for the entire day in honor of this holiday.

Although most major markets are closed Globex gold is still trading today. The most active February gold futures contract is currently trading off by three dollars and bid at $1279.60. This nominal decline comes on the heels of Friday’s action which took the market roughly $10 lower closing just below $1282 per ounce.

This week it is quite possible that traders and market participants will begin to really focus on the effect of the partial government shutdown, the longest single shut down in history, now in its 31st day.

Although today government operations would have been closed anyways in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. day.

According to the New York Times “This year’s holiday marks a milestone in the shutdown as hundreds of thousands of federal workers remain furloughed: It’s been one month since the government was last fully open.

Although both the democrats as well as the administration and republicans have made offers there has been no negotiation which would serve to end the partial government shutdown. On Friday the democrats extended a proposal having added $1 billion in border spending to their offer. President Trump offered some concessions saying he would restore for three years the protections known as DACA (deferred action for childhood arrivals), as well as temporarily protected status or T. P. S.

Even with these offers it seems as though both sides continue to dig in deeper and become more and more adamant about not compromising in any way which would lead to an agreement and the reopening of the partial government shutdown.

Recent actions on both sides are indicative of the extremely wide chasm or divide which separates the ideologies of both parties.

Wishing you as always, good trading,

Gary Wagner

Gary S. Wagner - Executive Producer