- On Wall Street, we are seeing a return of broad optimism, with major U.S. indices heading toward the session's close in the green (S&P 500: +0.5%, Nasdaq: +0.1%, DJIA: +0.6%, Russell 2000: +1.3%).
- Microsoft (MSFT.US) is weighing most heavily on the technology sector today, falling 6.2% after comments indicating slower growth in the cloud sector due to a lack of data centers needed to support demand for AI solutions.
- Among the Magnificent 7 stocks, Nvidia (NVDA.US: -3.2%), Amazon (AMZN.US: -1%), and Apple (AAPL.US: -0.2%) are also declining. Apple will present its Q4 and full-year 2024 results after the session.
- European indices are extending their winning streak: Germany's DAX is hitting another record high (+0.41%), France's CAC 40 is recovering from the luxury goods sector panic (+0.88%), and gains are also seen in the UK's FTSE 100 (+1.04%), Italy's FTSE MIB (+0.16%), Switzerland's SMI (+0.6%), Spain's IBEX 35 (+1.08%), and Poland's WIG20 (+1.77%).
- The ECB, as expected, cut its interest rates by 25 basis points. According to Christine Lagarde, disinflation is progressing as forecasted, and the 2% target will be reached this year. The EU economy is expected to remain weak in the short term, with future prospects defined by uncertainty surrounding geopolitical developments.
- Germany's economy is experiencing a stronger recession than anticipated: GDP in Q4 declined by 0.4% year-over-year (forecast: -0.3%, previous: +0.1%).
- U.S. natural gas inventories fell below the five-year average by 321 billion cubic feet this week (forecast: 313 billion, previous: 223 billion).
- As a result NATGAS futures are down 4%. In case of other energy commodities, brent is trading flat, with WTI down 0.4%.
- On the forex market, the Japanese yen (JPY) remains dominant, strengthening 0.56% against the dollar. The euro and British pound are slightly appreciating against the USD (+0.03%), while the Swiss franc is under selling pressure, losing 0.2% against the dollar. The dollar index is down just 0.14% despite significant volatility during today’s session.
- Optimism prevails in the precious metals market. Gold is hitting a new high around $2,795 per ounce (+1.3%), silver is up 2.3%, and platinum is rising 2.2%.
- Cryptocurrencies are experiencing strong gains today: Bitcoin is up 2%, Ethereum and Chainlink have gained 4.4%, and Solana is rising by 4%.
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