2018 was very different than 2017. The stock market already made the headlines, registering its first down year in a while.
Indexes
Red all over. Regardless of the decimation of the tech sector, the Nasdaq performed slightly better than the broader indexes.
| Asset |
| Gain/Loss |
| S&P 500 |
| 7.00% |
| Nasdaq |
| 2.73% |
| S&P 400 |
| 13.50% |
| Dow Jones |
| 6.24% |
| Nikkei |
| 11.67% |
Bonds
Surprisingly slightly red as well.
| Asset | Gain/Loss |
|---|---|
| 30-Year US T-Bond | 2.34% |
| 10-Year US T-Note | 0.56% |
| 5-Year US T-Note | 0.45% |
| 2-Year US T-Note | 0.26% |
Oils
Massacre, except for Natural Gas where we saw extremely low supplies during the last quarter.
| Asset | Gain/Loss |
|---|---|
| Crude Oil | 21.49% |
| Heating Oil | 17.97% |
| RBOB Gasoline | 29.08% |
| Natural Gas | 5.91% |
Metals
More red. The only bright star Palladium, which has had an extreme multi-year rally and is trading at all time high levels.
| Asset | Gain/Loss |
|---|---|
| Copper | 22.54% |
| Silver | 11.59% |
| Gold | 4.43% |
| Palladium | 14.82% |
| Platinum | 16.17% |
Currencies
It was a turbulent year, so the dollar was up, the yen was flat and everything else – red.
| Asset | Gain/Loss |
|---|---|
| Euro | 7.23% |
| Japanese Yen | 0.05% |
| British Pound | 7.22% |
| Swiss Franc | 3.99% |
| US Dollar Index | 5.82% |
| Canadian Dollar | 8.67% |
| Australian Dollar | 9.96% |
Softs
A single winner here too – Cocoa. Pretty drastic moves overall.
| Asset | Gain/Loss |
|---|---|
| Coffee | 26.96% |
| Cotton | 6.91% |
| Cocoa | 16.55% |
| Orange Juice | 10.43% |
| Sugar | 26.42% |
| Lumber | 13.28% |
Grains
Some green, some red.
| Asset | Gain/Loss |
|---|---|
| Oats | 9.99% |
| Corn | 6.07% |
| Soy Beans | 13.13% |
| Soy Bean Meal | 7.16% |
| Soy Bean Oil | 20.15% |
| Wheat | 1.26% |
| KC Wheat | 6.86% |
Meats
The cattle contracts were flat. The lean hogs was a loser.
| Asset | Gain/Loss |
|---|---|
| Lean Hogs | 15.43% |
| Live Cattle | 0.40% |
| Feeder Cattle | 0.89% |