FTSE 100 higher but Silver hits a wall of selling

Banks have bolstered the FTSE 100 today, while silver's parabolic move has finally run into a roadblock, says Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at investing and trading platform IG.

FTSE 100 resumes its march higher

The FTSE 100 finds itself well-supported by HSBC’s rally, adding more than 20 points to the index’s day, with index heavyweights NatWest and AstraZeneca adding to the positive mood. Investors remain optimistic on the global economy as we await the arrival of big-tech earnings from tomorrow. Meanwhile UnitedHealth’s poor earnings have dragged the stock sharply lower on Wall Street, taking the Dow with it, spoiling what has been an otherwise cautiously-positive day for US indices as the clock ticks down to the Fed decision tomorrow, though with the committee expected to hold, earnings from Microsoft and others are likely to be much more consequential.

Silver stumbles at $110

It would be churlish to make too much of silver’s failure to break through $110, given that it had smashed through $100 just a few days ago. But for a market that seems to be trading on momentum, the loss of this could spell trouble. Like the proverbial Wile E. Coyote, if silver stops running it may find that there is little support in the short-term, especially for a market that has seemed oblivious to gravity for about 8 weeks.