Gold Surges 3%; Stocks And Bonds Flounder

Gold surged 3% on the day (back above its 50DMA) - its biggest daily rise in over 13 months - as it appears weak macro data (CFNAI and home sales miss) only served to spur the overnight gains on un-Taper talk and short-covering. Silver's 5.2% gain is it second largest of the year pushing it back above $20. The USD slid 0.5% on the day (JPY strength notable) and WTI fell back modestly to around $107 (with Brent outperforming for a change). Treasuries and stocks tracked amid low volumes in a narrow range ending the day practically unchanged (after the S&P failed to test 1,700 intra day as Europe close). VIX closed down 0.25 vols (well off opening highs) at its lowest close in over 3 months on one of the lowest volume days of the year for stocks. Credit markets faded notably into the close.

Quite a day for gold...

In the last few weeks since Ben and his team start ed walking back his 'oops' on Taper-talk, Gold has risen a dramatic 11.1%. During the same period, since 6/27, the S&P is up 5.1%, the 30Y bond is unchanged and the USD is down around 1%.

The USD was the other market that moved notably today...

Credit markets were notably weak into the close...

Gold and the USD the big movers...

MCD removed 20 points from the Dow's performance on the day which ended +2pts; The S&P 500 gained 3.4 points for another new all-time high...

But volume was abysmal as stocks limped along in a narrow range...

Brent outperformed WTI on the day - lifting the spread back over $1...

VIX closed at its lowest in over 3 months (after some apparent hedging demand as we opened)...

and it appears the opening reach for a hedge was shorts caught that were forced to cover their pre-weekend bets. We end the day more balanced...

Charts: Bloomberg