FTSE 100 and Gold resume their march higher

Chris Beauchamp IG

Last week's concerns about US banks are a distant memory, says Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at investing and trading platform IG.

FTSE 100 lifted by defence and precious metals

It’s back to normal for the FTSE 100 today, as geopolitical tensions and a renewed surge in gold and silver boost defence firms and big-name miners. This has been coupled with a broader market rebound off Friday’s lows, coming as investors recover their wits after a somewhat absurd panic over the US regional banking system. The theme of the last few months, that of frantic buying of even the briefest period of weakness, is still firmly in place.

Gold shrugs off Friday’s slump

The same tendency is at work in gold today. The price had a swift drop on Friday that no doubt felt more dramatic simply because of the one-way nature of the recent rally. But there is still plenty of money willing to jump on board the gold train. It looks like Friday’s bout of altitude sickness was a blip, though that will come as little comfort to those waiting for a ‘proper pullback’.

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Chris Beauchamp

EUR/USD holds firm near 1.1850 amid USD weakness

EUR/USD remains strongly bid around 1.1850 in European trading on Monday. The USD/JPY slide-led broad US Dollar weakness helps the pair build on Friday's recovery ahead of the Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence data for February.

GBP/USD hovers near 1.3600 as UK government crisis weighs on Pound Sterling

GBP/USD moves sideways after registering modest gains in the previous session, trading around 1.3610 during the European hours on Monday. The pair could come under pressure as the Pound Sterling may weaken amid a fresh government crisis in the United Kingdom.

Gold remains supported by China's buying and USD weakness as traders eye US data

Gold struggles to capitalize on its intraday move up and remains below the $5,100 mark heading into the European session amid mixed cues. Data released over the weekend showed that the People's Bank of China extended its buying spree for a 15th month in January. Moreover, dovish US Fed expectations and concerns about the central bank's independence drag the US Dollar lower for the second straight day, providing an additional boost to the non-yielding yellow metal.

Cardano steadies as whale selling caps recovery

Cardano (ADA) steadies at $0.27 at the time of writing on Monday after slipping more than 5% in the previous week. On-chain data indicate a bearish trend, with certain whales offloading ADA. However, the technical outlook suggests bearish momentum is weakening, raising the possibility of a short-term relief rebound if buying interest picks up.

Japanese PM Takaichi nabs unprecedented victory – US data eyed this week

I do not think I would be exaggerating to say that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s snap general election gamble paid off over the weekend – and then some. This secured the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) an unprecedented mandate just three months into her tenure.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple consolidate after massive sell-off

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple prices consolidated on Monday after correcting by nearly 9%, 8%, and 10% in the previous week, respectively. BTC is hovering around $70,000, while ETH and XRP are facing rejection at key levels. Traders should be cautious: despite recent stabilization, upside recovery for these top three cryptocurrencies is capped as the broader trend remains bearish.