Europe surges but US trading remains muted

Chris Beauchamp IG

It has been a great day for European stocks but on Wall Street the mood is more muted thanks to weaker economic data, says Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at online trading platform IG.

FTSE 100 shrugs off any pre-election nerves

“UK stocks are in a positive mood on the final day of election campaigning, with most investors looking forward to the installation of a Labour government with a large majority, providing stability and removing political risk from the outlook for the time being. When the election is out of the way, the next focus will be a possible UK rate cut, helping to give the economy a much-needed shot in the arm. Prominent among today’s gainers have been miners, boosted by a weaker dollar and rallying commodity prices.”

European equities make solid gains on hopes of French election stalemate

“While US markets have begun the session quietly thanks to the poor ADP payrolls and ISM number, stocks in Europe continue to roar higher. As expected, a swathe of candidates in the French elections have stood down, allowing for a united front against the Far Right. While this means France is set for a period of political deadlock, it does mean that neither left nor right will have the upper hand. In the short-to-medium term, this should help European equities to keep moving higher, though the longer-term view is less encouraging.”

Author

Chris Beauchamp

EUR/USD flirts with daily highs, retargets 1.1900

EUR/USD regains upside traction, returning to the 1.1880 zone and refocusing its attention to the key 1.1900 barrier. The pair’s slight gains comes against the backdrop of a humble decline in the US Dollar as investors continue to assess the latest US CPI readings and the potential Fed’s rate path.

GBP/USD remains well bid around 1.3650

GBP/USD maintains its upside momentum in place, hovering around daily highs near 1.3650 and setting aside part of the recent three-day drop. Cable’s improved sentiment comes on the back of the Greenback’s irresolute price action, while recent hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill also collaborate with the uptick.

Gold clings to gains just above $5,000/oz

Gold is reclaiming part of the ground lost on Wednesday’s marked decline, as bargain-hunters keep piling up and lifting prices past the key $5,000 per troy ounce. The precious metal’s move higher is also underpinned by the slight pullback in the US Dollar and declining US Treasury yields across the curve.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP in choppy price action, weighed down by falling institutional interest

Bitcoin's upside remains largely constrained amid weak technicals and declining institutional interest. Ethereum trades sideways above $1,900 support with the upside capped below $2,000 amid ETF outflows.

Week ahead – Data blitz, Fed Minutes and RBNZ decision in the spotlight

US GDP and PCE inflation are main highlights, plus the Fed minutes. UK and Japan have busy calendars too with focus on CPI. Flash PMIs for February will also be doing the rounds. RBNZ meets, is unlikely to follow RBA’s hawkish path.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP potential bottom could be in sight

Ripple edges up above the intraday low of $1.35 at the time of writing on Friday amid mixed price actions across the crypto market. The remittance token failed to hold support at $1.40 the previous day, reflecting risk-off sentiment amid a decline in retail and institutional sentiment.