Global stocks fall amid concerns about an escalation in the Middle East

Chris Beauchamp IG

'Higher rates for longer' and heightened tensions in the Middle East lead to a weekly loss for global stock indices, says Axel Rudolph, Senior Market Analyst at online trading platform IG.

Stocks end week in the red

“A hawkish Fed, surging US yields and the fear of an escalation in the Middle East have pushed global stock indices into negative territory for the week. An over 10% surge in the gold price in the past couple of weeks and rise in the price of oil to just below $90 for TWI is not helping inflationary pressures either with Fed Chair Jerome Powell yesterday re-iterating that US inflation remains too high and needs to come down."

German producer prices drop at record pace

“In an otherwise relatively empty economic calendar UK September retail sales slumped by a much worse-than-expected 0.9% month-on-month, showing that the cost-of-living crisis is a a drag on the British economy. In Germany producer prices dropped at a record pace as the country battles its recession. Next week's focus will be on the ECB's rate decision, US Q3 GDP and earnings by mega caps like Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft."

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Chris Beauchamp

EUR/USD looks sidelined around 1.1850

EUR/USD remains on the back foot, extending its bearish tone and sliding towards the 1.1850 area to print fresh daily lows on Monday. The move lower comes as the US Dollar gathers modest traction, with thin liquidity and subdued volatility amplifying price swings amid the US market holiday.

GBP/USD flirts with daily lows near 1.3630

GBP/USD has quickly given back Friday’s solid gains, turning lower at the start of the week and drifting back towards the 1.3630 area. The focus now shifts squarely to Tuesday’s UK labour market report, which is likely to keep the quid firmly in the spotlight and could set the tone for Cable’s next move.

Gold battle around $5,000 continues

Gold is giving back part of Friday’s sharp rebound, deflating below the key $5,000 mark per troy ounce as the new week gets underway. Modest gains in the US Dollar are keeping the metal in check, while thin trading conditions, due to the Presidents Day holiday in the US, are adding to the choppy and hesitant tone across markets.

Bitcoin consolidates as on-chain data show mixed signals

Bitcoin price has consolidated between $65,700 and $72,000 over the past nine days, with no clear directional bias. US-listed spot ETFs recorded a $359.91 million weekly outflow, marking the fourth consecutive week of withdrawals.

The week ahead: Key inflation readings and why the AI trade could be overdone

It is likely to be a quiet start to the week, with US markets closed on Monday for Presidents Day. European markets are higher across the board and gold is clinging to the $5,000 level after the tamer than expected CPI report in the US reduced haven flows to precious metals.

XRP steadies in narrow range as fund inflows, futures interest rise

Ripple is trading in a narrow range between $1.45 (immediate support) and $1.50 (resistance) at the time of writing on Monday. The remittance token extended its recovery last week, peaking at $1.67 on Sunday from the weekly open at $1.43.