- Wall Street indices extend gains, although their scale is much smaller than yesterday. S&P 500 gains 0.2% and tests 5,100 pts area. Dow Jones adds 0.3%, small-cap Russell 2000 jumps 0.7% while Nasdaq trades flat
- European indices traded higher for another day in a row - German DAX and UK FTSE 100 traded around 0.3% higher, French CAC40 jumped 0.7% while Italian FTSE MIB surged almost 1.1%. Dutch AEX was a laggard with 0.3% drop
- GBP and AUD are the best performing G10 currencies today, while CAD, CHF and USD lag the most
- Oil trades over 2% lower today amid reports that a new round of talks will be held in Paris to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza Strip. Brent is trading near 2-week lows
- US front-month natural gas prices (NATGAS) drop around 6% today and test $1.70 per MMBTu area for the first time following contract rollover
- Precious metals gain - gold trades 0.7%, silver jumps 1%, platinum adds 0.3% and palladium surges over 2%
- Major cryptocurrencies trade lower today - Bitcoin drops 0.6%, Ethereum trades 1.5% lower and Ripple pulls back 1.4%
- Fed Williams said that rate hikes are not his base case scenario and that rate cuts are likely later this year
- ECB Stournaras said that European Central Bank definitely won't cut rates in March and that he expects the first rate cut to be delivered in June
- ECB Centeno said that bankers must be open for a March cut, even if it is unlikely
- ECB Muller said that he would like to Q1 wage data before deciding whether to cut rates
- German IFO Business Climate index ticked higher from 85.2 to 85.5 in February (exp. 85.5). Current Conditions subindex dropped from 87.0 to 86.9 (exp. 86.8) while Expectations subindex climbed from 83.5 to 85.1 (exp. 84.0)
- Final German GDP report for Q4 2023 confirmed 0.3% QoQ contraction signalled by flash release
NATGAS resumed declines after yesterday's contract rollover and dropped to $1.70 per MMBTu area. Source: xStation5
