Good morning, Bull Sheeters.
Let’s start today with bond yields. The yield on the 10-year Treasury is down a tick, and that should be good news for equities, particularly tech stocks. And yet U.S. futures are sinking as I type. Stocks (and stock-market reporters) could use a break. They’ll get one tomorrow with U.S. exchanges closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Elsewhere, Europe is flatlining after a rough trading session yesterday. Asia is mixed, and crypto is choppy following a surprise move by India to regulate cryptocurrencies. The details are murky, but it was enough to send crypto prices lower, before recovering somewhat.
In today’s Buzzworthy section, we look at rising COVID cases, some really bearish tech picks and some classic Twitter sarcasm that will put you in the holiday mood.
But first, let’s see what’s moving markets. We begin out East.
Markets update
Asia
- The major Asia indexes were mixed with the Nikkei, the worst of the bunch, closing down by nearly 1.6%.
- The China-U.S.-Japan-India coordinated effort to flood the markets with strategic oil reserves did, erm, not much. Both Brent and WTI spot prices have been mostly higher.
Europe
- The European bourses were mixed at the open, with the Stoxx Europe 600 flat two hours into the session. Financials and healthcare led the way higher out of the gates.
- The euro was down and Germany’s Dax was underperforming its peers this morning after Germany reported a record number of new COVID cases—and a big jump at that.
- It’s been a nutty week in the FX markets, and few, if any, currencies have been more volatile than the Turkish lira. It fell as much as 15% on Tuesday (it’s steady this morning) following the latest bit of central-bank meddling by Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
U.S.
- The U.S. futures point to a weak open. Tech stocks again were the big laggard on Tuesday with the Nasdaq falling for a second straight day. The big culprit: the yield on the 10-year Treasury hit a one-month high at one point.
- Best Buy shares fell more than 12% after the consumer electronics retailer informed investors its margins are getting hit hard by shoplifters, including organized crime gangs. Otherwise, it racked up decent quarterly results.
- There’s a big data dump coming this morning. Look out for reports on mortgage applications, inflation and economic growth.
Elsewhere
- Gold is flat on the day…and well down on the week. It trades above $1,790/ounce.
- The dollar is up.
- Crude is under pressure, with Brent trading around $81/barrel.
- Bitcoin is under pressure this morning following the India news. It trades below $57,000. The India news wiped out gains by Ethereum’s Ether too.
***
Buzzworthy
Delta gaining steam
The World Health Organization is calling Europe—particularly, Northern Europe—the new epicenter for COVID outbreaks. But the trend lines don’t look good in the U.S. either. A fourth—fifth?—wave will likely force economists to slash their Q4 growth forecasts. In the meantime, stay safe, everyone.
🦠😬🦠
The dogs of the Nasdaq
💰😬💰
Thanksgiving dinner rules: Politics talk—out. Crypto talk—in.
🙄₿🙄
“Roaring central banker”
🚀🔥🚀
***
Postscript
I spoke to Federico, my turkey-pusher, erm, macellaio (butcher), earlier this week. As always, he wants to know:
- Why does America, a super-power, celebrate such an important holiday with a turkey? Why not a nice veal roast? Or even a pheasant? I get this question every year (and it always leaves me stumped).
- Will we at least be filling the bird with pig? Answer: Oh, yes. I’ll need plenty of pancetta or, better, guanciale (pig cheeks). The stuffing will contain quite a bit of minced pork and veal, I assured him… And chestnuts. And cognac.
- How big a bird? It will be a smaller gathering, no more than a dozen people. So let’s not exaggerate. Eight kgs?, he asked. No! Seven? Got anything smaller? Okay, seven it is.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
***
Programming note: Fortune‘s newsletter writers, including yours truly, will be off tomorrow and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday. Bull Sheet will be back in your inbox on Monday morning.
***
Have a nice day. I’ll see you here Monday… Until then, there’s more news below.
Bernhard Warner
@BernhardWarner
Bernhard.Warner@Fortune.com
As always, you can write to bullsheet@fortune.com or reply to this email with suggestions and feedback.
Today's reads
How to invest when inflation is high—Fortune
No, the housing market isn’t about to crash—but Redfin does say some good news awaits buyers in 2022—Fortune
Is the Four-Day Workweek Finally Within Our Grasp?—New York Times
Elon Musk’s Tax Bill on Stock Options Fell Along With Tesla’s Share Price—Wall Street Journal
Market candy
Quiz time
With the pull-back in oil prices in recent days, crude is no longer atop the commodities leader board for 2021. It's been replaced by which commodity?
- A. Coffee
- B. Natural gas
- C. Copper
- D. Wheat
The answer is...B, Natural gas. The energy crunch in parts of Europe and Asia has pushed up nat-gas well beyond your typical seasonal highs. Natural gas futures had, as of yesterday, climbed 95.6% year-on-year. Coffee, however, is gaining. It's up nearly 90% in the same period.
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