The first quarter ended with a bang. The second quarter isn’t starting with one, however — at least not in terms of performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Currently, the S&P 500 futures are down five points and are trading 0.1% below fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are down 106 points and are trading 0.8% below fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 127 points and are trading 0.4% above fair value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is the look of a mixed market, which is seeing OPEC+ mix things up with a surprise announcement that it is going to cut production by about 1.16 million barrels per day starting in May and continuing through the end of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a pre-emptive move aimed at mitigating further price declines that could result from weakening global demand. So far, so good for OPEC+: WTI crude futures are up 5.9% to $80.13 per barrel and Brent crude futures are up 5.9% to $84.56 per barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An FT<\/em> report, though, implies that this cut announcement could have some political undertones as Saudi Arabia was reportedly “irritated” that the Biden Administration did not purchase oil to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In any case, oil prices — and oil stocks — are headed higher this morning. Dow component Chevron (CVX)<\/strong> is up 4.2% in pre-market trading and is playing a key role in the outperformance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n