Gold rally set to continue in 2020

Highlights: 

Chart of the Day: Fed’s balance sheet “continues its epic rise” — up by an average $101.5b per month since September, compared to $80b per month during QE3. “It’s hard not to imagine this influence on stock prices,” says Peter Boockvar.

Futures Summary: 

News:

US stock indexes close at record highs.  All three major US stock indexes closed at record highs Thursday in response to strong holiday sales at Amazon and optimism about US-Chinese trade. The Nasdaq composite exceeded 9,000 for the first time, marking the 10th consecutive record close.

CMT: Bank stocks could see breakout in 2020  Bank stocks could be poised for a breakout in the coming year, says technical analyst Craig Johnson, CMT. Johnson says the chart for the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF exchange-traded fund is "in a multimonth bottom here, and we're very close to seeing a nice breakout."

Gold rally set to continue in 2020, technical analyst says.  Technical analyst Andrew Addison writes that strong accumulation in gold stock indexes and signs of the US Dollar Index potentially rolling over indicate that gold will continue its rally in 2020.

Analyst explains Apple's record highs in 2019.  Shares of Apple have jumped 84% so for this year and analysts now see $300 per share as a near-term target. Analyst Joseph Young cites strong iPhone 11 sales, increased production of accessories, the avoidance of new tariffs on its Chinese sales and positive-looking technicals as factors in the stock's 2019 gains and reasons it could maintain momentum in 2020.

Energy stocks close out decade of underperformance.  US energy stock buyers are hoping the sector will have more to offer during the next decade than it did during the 2010s. Over the past year year the S&P 500 rose more than 180% while the S&P 500 energy sector edged up only 6%.

Amazon says its holiday sales broke all records.  Amazon.com said its overall sales were "record breaking" this holiday season, with "tens of millions" of its own devices sold and 5 million new customers beginning Prime memberships. The number of items delivered through one-day or same-day delivery quadrupled from the 2018 holiday season, the company said.