The prices of the gold are close to an all-time high and those of the oil The US dollar stabilized on Tuesday after rising last week as investors sought safety amid geopolitical risks and awaited the results of the Nvidia and US inflation data later this week.
European stocks were broadly flat, following a late rally in Japan’s Nikkei index. stock market indices Global stocks were broadly unchanged across the board, with better-than-expected earnings from the world’s largest listed miner, BHP, helping to underpin sentiment. Meanwhile, index futures S&P 500 and the Nasdaq of USA remained stable.
He gold remained above $2,500 an ounce due to expectations of imminent rate cuts in the United States and persistent concerns about the conflict in Middle Eastexacerbated by a major missile exchange between Israel and Hezbollah on Sunday.
Meanwhile, prices of oil took a breather, with crude oil futures Brent falling 0.6% to $80.95 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures fell 0.7% to $76.89 a barrel.
Focus on the Middle East and the Fed
Tensions in Middle East, along with concerns about a possible closure of the oil fields in Libya, had caused oil prices to rise by more than 7% in the previous three sessions. However, that rally lost steam on Tuesday, with prices falling slightly.
Expectations of faster interest rate cuts in USA have been a key driver of market movements, after the president of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, said on Friday that the central bank was ready to start cutting rates.
“It would be a real shock not to get a rate cut (from the Fed) in September,” said Guy Miller, chief market strategist at Zurich Insurance Group, adding that an initial 25 basis point cut was most likely. “It was also interesting that it didn’t really push against market expectations of 100+ basis points of rate cuts between now and the end of the year.”
He dollar index was just above a one-year low of 100.83, while the euro and pound were nearing multi-month highs against the dollar. A key measure of U.S. inflation due on Friday could further influence market perceptions of how quickly the Fed will act.
Nvidia shares
Investors were also nervous about the announcement of Nvidia on its earnings report on Wednesday, where any less-than-stellar forecasts from the chipmaker could shake investor confidence in the AI-driven rally.
“I think Nvidia will be more important” than inflation data, he says Michael Nizardhead of multi-assets at investor Edmond de Rothschild. “We know that the pace of inflation is going well. We don’t know what the outlook might be for this big player in artificial intelligence. This could be a bump in the road for the market,” he added.
Source: Ambito
