Nervous dip buying continues in equities

Chris Beauchamp IG

Uneasy calm sees stocks rise

“While the attacks in the Middle East appeared to intensify overnight, there has been little dramatic rhetoric today, leading to hopes that any renewed conflict can be avoided. But the weekend is not far off, and the US has shown a preference for strikes over a weekend, leading to some caution in markets despite a stronger open for the US. Oil prices have dropped back, adding to a positive feeling across the globe, but a potential second round of full-blown conflict looms large in everyone’s minds.”

AstraZeneca trims losses, helping FTSE 100

“There hasn’t exactly been an unseemly rush to buy today’s dip in AstraZeneca; the hit to the revenue forecast is too great for that, but the worst of the losses have been trimmed for now. This, together with a positively heroic contribution from the mining sector, has helped the FTSE 100 to claw back most of its opening fall. But such a big stumble from one of the real index heavyweights is the last thing the index needed, putting its quest to 11,000 back even further.”

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.

GBP/USD clings to gains near 1.3400

GBP/USD retreats after reaching a three-week high above 1.3430, challenging the 1.3400 yardstick on Thursday. Although easing political uncertainty in the UK helps the quid limit its downside, escalating tensions in the Middle East support the Greenback, keeping Cable under scrutiny.

EUR/USD faces resistance around 1.1450

EUR/USD keeps the bid bias although it seems to have met a tough hurdle around 1.1450 on Thursday. The pair’s advance follows the bearish tone in the US Dollar despite escalating tensions in the Middle East and a broad-based cautious stance from market participants.

Gold flirts with two-day highs, approaches $4,130

Gold stages a modest rebound on Thursday, setting aside a three-day losing streak and managing to surpass the $4,100 mark per troy ounce. However, steady geopolitical tensions have revived concerns over persistently high global inflation, reinforcing expectations of higher rates across the board and somewhat curtailing the yellow metal’s upside potential.

Bitcoin stalls as mixed ETF flows, renewed US-Iran tensions cap upside

Bitcoin trades at $63,000 on Thursday, recovering slightly after facing rejection near $64,000. Renewed geopolitical uncertainty has dampened risk appetite, limiting BTC upside potential.

Japan may be changing its Yen strategy, but markets don’t look scared

Japan may be changing its intervention playbook, but that might not be enough to rescue the battered Yen. With USD/JPY hovering at four-decade highs, the currency’s weakness is being driven less by speculative pressure and more by a powerful structural force: the wide US-Japan rate gap.

Bye, forward guidance: How to trade when central banks choose silence

Central banks have spent years telling markets what might come next. Now, traders face the possibility that they say a lot less. From the Federal Reserve to the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, policymakers are pushing back against forward guidance.