The US stock market closed with a strong gain yesterday. The S&P 500 increased by 1.4%, the Dow Jones jumped by 1.76%, and the NASDAQ added 0.79%. All sectors of the economy closed in the green zone, with oil and gas, financials, and industrials leading the gains. Today investors are waiting for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech that may lead to increased volatility and a temporary decline in indices. Yesterday, the head of one of the most successful hedge funds, billionaire Ray Dalio, said “what kind of interest rate hike can we talk about if the country has a post-covid economy with huge unemployment, where a huge number of companies are not profitable and survive only thanks to simulation programs? A rate hike will lead to a huge number of bankruptcies and crowds of unemployed people”. In the medium term, investors will also keep a close eye on the US labor market, as its results strongly influence the Fed’s stance.
The European stock market follows the US market. On Monday, the head of ECB Christine Lagarde announced that more than 100 million people in the European Union had been vaccinated against COVID-19. The ECB officials expect that the second half of the year will accelerate economic growth in the eurozone. Analysts are confident that, considering the continued soft monetary policy in the EU, the euro and British pound will strengthen in the medium term.
Gold stopped falling. Yesterday, gold price increased by more than 1% to $1,788 a troy ounce. At the moment, prices for precious metals are at good mid-term buying points. Investors need to keep an eye on Treasury bond yields because of their inverse correlation to gold.
The oil uptrend continues. Summer is in full swing, and fuel demand is rising, so fundamentally, investors shouldn’t expect any significant declines in oil prices until the end of August.
Asian financial markets also rose on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 2.1%, Australia’s ASX 200 jumped by 1.2%, and China’s CSI 300 increased by 0.6%. China’s financial regulators are urging companies to protect themselves against currency risks and have launched a training program on currency hedging for banks. But many companies are against this policy of the People’s Bank because, for small businesses, currency hedging instruments such as futures and options are too difficult to understand.
Main market quotes:
- S&P 500 (F) 4,224.79 +58.34 (+1.40%)
- Dow Jones 33,876.97 -586.89 (+1.76%)
- DAX 15,603.24 +155.20 (+1.00%)
- FTSE 100 7,062.29 +44.82 (+0.64%)
- USD Index 91.87 -0.36 (-0.39%)
Important events:
- US Existing Home Sales (m/m) at 17:00 (GMT+3);
- US Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies at 21:00 (GMT+3).
