Gold, Franc and European defense stocks attract inflows [Video]

The month of June started on a bearish note, as renewed trade tensions and mixed economic data dominated the headlines. Trade tensions are now accompanied by military tensions. The British PM announced yesterday at the government’s Strategic Defense Review that £15bn will be spent to bring Britain up to ‘war-fighting readiness’. Needless to say, European defense stocks cheered the news: Select Stoxx Europe Aerospace & Defense ETF gained another 1.63%, also reaching a new record, while the rest of the Stoxx 600 remained muted.

Gold rallied to a three-week high on the back of renewed geopolitical jitters, while USDCHF sank below the 0.82 mark amid flight to safety, toward the Swiss economy, which expanded by 2% in Q1.

In the US, the S&P 500 managed to shrug off trade anxieties while the Japanese 10-year auction saw stronger-than-expected demand and pulled the 10-year JGB yield below the 1.50% mark. Notably, increased demand for Japanese government bonds has tended to coincide with selling pressure in the S&P 500 since last summer—largely due to the unwinding of Japanese carry trades, which sent shockwaves through global financial markets. As such, relatively high Japanese yields increase the risk of reverse carry trades and should be watched closely.