Indices push higher while Rolls-Royce (RR Stock) gets a boost

Chris Beauchamp IG

Stock markets are making gains once more today, as traders look to take the recent market rebound further. Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce is hitting new highs for the year.

Rally enters a new week with confidence.
Last week’s fears evaporate as buyers return.
Rolls-Royce surges on USAF deal.

Early gains for the FTSE 100 have been knocked back, but European markets are doing better and US futures look solid. The new week has started in a very different fashion to the last one, indices having staged an impressive recovery from last Tuesday’s lows. China's worries seem to have evaporated, or at least have dimmed in importance, and with the US once again talking about an infrastructure bill we seem to have a welcome return to some of the old themes that proved so fruitful for equity markets in the first half of the year. US futures point towards a better start to the week too, as the clouds that dogged markets last week disappear to be replaced by a new wave of optimism.

Speaking of optimism, Rolls-Royce’s news has pushed it to the top of the leaderboard on a quieter day for UK company news. Rolls continue to remain popular with retail investors who see in it an ideal way of playing the rebound in travel and the global economy more broadly; this has come despite months of poor share price performance, but it looks like this particular value trade has been given a real boost this morning, rallying to eighteen-month highs.

Ahead of the open, we expect the Dow to start at 34,929, up 131 points from Friday’s close.

Author

Chris Beauchamp

EUR/USD hits two-day highs near 1.1820

EUR/USD picks up pace and reaches two-day tops around 1.1820 at the end of the week. The pair’s move higher comes on the back of renewed weakness in the US Dollar amid growing talk that the Fed could deliver an interest rate cut as early as March. On the docket, the flash US Consumer Sentiment improves to 57.3 in February.

GBP/USD reclaims 1.3600 and above

GBP/USD reverses two straight days of losses, surpassing the key 1.3600 yardstick on Friday. Cable’s rebound comes as the Greenback slips away from two-week highs in response to some profit-taking mood and speculation of Fed rate cuts. In addition, hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill are also collaborating with the quid’s improvement.

Gold climbs further, focus is back to 45,000

Gold regains upside traction and surpasses the $4,900 mark per troy ounce at the end of the week, shifting its attention to the critical $5,000 region. The move reflects a shift in risk sentiment, driving flows back towards traditional safe haven assets and supporting the yellow metal.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP rebound amid risk-off, $2.6 billion liquidation wave

Bitcoin edges up above $65,000 at the time of writing on Friday, as dust from the recent macro-triggered sell-off settles. The leading altcoin, Ethereum, hovers above $1,900, but resistance at $2,000 caps the upside. Meanwhile, Ripple has recorded the largest intraday jump among the three assets, up over 10% to $1.35.

Three scenarios for Japanese Yen ahead of snap election

The latest polls point to a dominant win for the ruling bloc at the upcoming Japanese snap election. The larger Sanae Takaichi’s mandate, the more investors fear faster implementation of tax cuts and spending plans.

XRP rally extends as modest ETF inflows support recovery

Ripple is accelerating its recovery, trading above $1.36 at the time of writing on Friday, as investors adjust their positions following a turbulent week in the broader crypto market. The remittance token is up over 21% from its intraday low of $1.12.