Tech takes a backseat for a change

Chris Beauchamp IG

Non-AI stocks are enjoying a rare day of pre-eminence, says Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at online trading and investing platform IG.

Non-AI stocks outperform

While they still lag behind their AI cousins in terms of recent performance, the world beyond tech is showing some signs of strength after yesterday’s OpenAI revenue news. This potential rotation comes just as earnings season dawns, and might mark the point at which embattled European markets manage to make up some lost ground and for the Dow to post a more impressive performance after a week in which the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both made new highs.

Oil prices higher again

This week has been yet another demonstration of how oil moves everything else in markets. The commodity’s boost on expectations of a US strike on Iran was reversed yesterday, but it leaves the underlying tensions and problems in the Middle East unchanged. So long as tanker and insurance rates remain at their current painful levels, a sustained decline in oil prices is much less likely, even if flows are holding up well.

Author

Chris Beauchamp

Chris Beauchamp has been with IG for four years, and in that time has become a regular commentator and analyst for the financial press and TV, with appearances on all the major financial channels as well as the BBC and Sky News.

AUD/USD bulls regain control above 0.6950 amid USD retreat

AUD/USD regains traction and extends the previous day's bounce from the weekly low, aiming for 0.7000 in Asia on Friday. The overnight pullback in US bond yields keeps the US Dollar below an 18-month high, which in turn offers some support to the pair. Meanwhile, hawkish RBA expectations also keep the major underpinned.

USD/JPY holds gains near 158.00 after Japan's weak Household Spending data

USD/JPY clings to gains around 158.00 after data showed on Friday that Japan's Household Spending fell for the ninth straight month, undermining the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, the US Dollar remains depressed as the overnight fall in US bond yields counters a hawkish Fed and geopolitical uncertainties, could cap any downside in the pair.

Gold remains range-bound below $4,200

Gold has given up some ground after an initial bullish attempt to reach weekly highs, returning to below the $4,200 mark per troy ounce on Friday. The US Dollar’s strong upside momentum, combined with rising US Treasury yields across the curve, seems to keep further gains in the yellow metal under scrutiny.

Has Bitcoin really escaped the macro forces it was built to fight?

Over 17 years ago, Satoshi Nakamoto designed Bitcoin (BTC) on the back of a global financial crisis as an alternative to the global monetary system outside the control of central banks, governments and traditional intermediaries. This raises a key question: has Bitcoin really become independent of the macroeconomic forces it was built to challenge?

The Euro is not the sick man of Europe. France's bond market is

EUR/USD remains under pressure, near the 17-month low of 1.1161 reached on Monday. The pair has lost more than 7% since its yearly peak, as concerns over France's public finances increasingly weigh on the single currency. But behind the weakness of the Euro (EUR), the problem does not necessarily lie with the European economy as a whole.