GOLD
Gold prices edged up during early Thursday trading, reaching a 13-day high, which correlates with the weakening of the US dollar. The greenback started the session with losses against its counterparts as markets awaited the release of PMI data later in the day. Analysts generally anticipate these figures will reinforce the prevailing positive outlook for the American economy. If this expectation holds, it's likely to keep the Fed's hawkish stance unchanged. As the probability of a US rate cut in the first half of the year diminishes, the potential for further dollar gains and higher treasury yields constrains the upside for gold prices. However, downside risk remains limited due to geopolitical uncertainties and a gloomy global economic outlook, which favour gold as a haven asset.
Ricardo Evangelista – Senior Analyst, ActivTrades
Source: ActivTrader
EUROPEAN SHARES
European shares soared on Thursday, alongside Asian stocks and US futures contracts, as investors cheer on strong results from Nvidia.
Even though analysts and investors were already forecasting a significant surge in revenue from the giant chipmaker, Nvidia still managed to surprise everyone, topping estimations following the publication of an astonishing 265% increase in sales compared to the same quarter of last year. The company saw $12.3 billion of net income during Q4 2023 (+769% YoY) while lifting its earnings per share to $5.16, way above the $4.59 expected by investors.
These impressive numbers provided a solid boost to appetite related to not only tech- and AI-related shares but also the equity market as a whole.
The STOXX-50 index has accelerated beyond its bullish channel, leading the market to a new all-time high above 4,850.0pts, with all sectors in the green and the best performances brought by the tech sector.
The market is now facing a new resistance around 4,855.0pts, the last significant one before the psychological 4,985.0pts/5,000.0pts zone.
More volatility may find its way through the markets today as investors wait for the EU CPI print, which is expected to show cooling inflation.
If estimations were proven to be accurate, it could provide another fresh bullish wind to riskier assets, especially after the minutes of the last FOMC meeting yesterday showed the Fed remains optimistic about the course of inflation but needs to see more improvements before proceeding with any rate cut.
Pierre Veyret – Technical analyst, ActivTrades
Source: ActivTrader
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