Worries Over iPhone Production Demand Sends Apple Lower

Apple shares got hammered yesterday in the US after a report that said the company cut back on parts for the iPhone 5 this quarter due to weak demand. Investors are starting to sense that Apple’s growth may be slowing. The stock dipped below $500 at one point. This was the first time below $500 since February 16 of last year. Apple has a big weighting in both the S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq 100 Index. Weakness in Apple held both indexes from advancing yesterday.

Facebook Stock Has Been On A Tear Recently

Facebook stock jumped above $32 for the first time since July. Traders are excited about upcoming product announcements and financial results. Wall Street has renewed confidence in the company has the company has rallied off its lows of $17.55. Some analysts are speculating that the company will be coming out with a search engine or a smartphone. A search engine would be more bullish as it would be ad revenue related and tie in with its existing business model.

Chinese Stocks Continue To Rally

Chinese stocks rose again today on signs that profits for Chinese companies are expected to increase. The Shanghai Composite climbed to 2,317.85. This is the highest the index has been since June 18. This continues yesterday’s rally after the head of the securities regulator said that China can increase by 10 times the size of two investment programs that allows foreigners to buy Chinese stocks. The Shanghai Composite is up 18 percent since it hit a four year low on December 3.

Gotta Love Platinum

Platinum continues its march higher overtaking gold in price. I talked about this yesterday and I have been telling binary traders to play the bull in platinum. Platinum is trading right now at $1673.50, up another $15.30. Gold is trading at $1672.30. Barclays today released a bullish report on platinum saying platinum will reach $1735 this year. Platinum has had bullish fundamentals for the past year on increased demand from the auto industry and supply disruptions. Platinum is used to make autocatalysts and jewelry.

Yen Rallies As Japanese Economy Minister Damps Speculation Of Further Weakening

Japan’s economy minister Akira Amari said an excessively weak currency could impact costs and households. Binary traders that are bearish the yen have to be cautious as the entire world has a massive short position on the yen. If everyone is on one side of the trade and everyone needs to get out, we can have a massive short covering rally. I advise binary traders to play some binary puts on the US dollar versus the yen for now as I see more yen strengthening as positions are unwound.

Aussie Dollar Drops Before Employment Report

The Australian dollar is weaker against most of its major peers before an Australian employment report. Most analysts see weakness in Australia’s labor market and that leads to a weaker economy and a weaker currency. The Aussie was last at 1.0546 to the US dollar, below the key 1.06 level that is proving to be formidable resistance.

Most Analysts Mixed On Their Forecasts For Gold

Has gold peaked or not? That is the questions many traders are asking themselves. I’m neutral, but leaning to bearish. I’m sorry goldbugs, but to me the rally looks like it’s losing steam. If gold couldn’t hit $2000 when Ben Bernanke was cranking up the printing press, how is it going to hit $2000 when he stops? The era of printing money will eventually come to an end and I think that’s bearish for gold. My advice is to stick with platinum and palladium versus gold and silver.

As always, good luck binary traders and be sure to check back for the latest update! My goal is to talk about markets where I see a trade and not just talk about any market. I want traders to profit off my posts and not talk about useless points in the financial markets. We’re all about profit here!