Tech rallies but FTSE 100 comes under pressure

Chris Beauchamp IG

A better day for tech stocks contrasts with losses for the FTSE 100, says Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at online trading and investing platform IG.

Tech leads gains after Nvidia results

Nvidia’s solid earnings last night have reignited the AI trade, pushing the Nasdaq 100 back towards yesterday’s highs. Tech stocks are back in favour, while everything else has been unceremoniously dumped as risk appetite wanes before Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech and the end of the month. It has been a grim day for the FTSE 100, which has seen the optimism of the first half of the week give way to broad selling, though the wooden spoon goes to the CAC40, where fears of the impact of higher oil prices have hit infrastructure group Eiffage.

Pound edges lower for a second day

Some of yesterday’s heavy selling in sterling versus the dollar have abated, but the currency still looks to be overtired after its strong rally. The usual pre-Jackson Hole anticipation mean now is hardly an ideal time to push GBPUSD higher given speculation around a more hawkish Warsh and a potential September rate hike.

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 remains below 0.7000 amid light trading

AUD/USD fills a modest bearish gap on Monday, but remains below 0.7000 in the Asian session amid holiday-thinned liquidity. The US Dollar attempts a bounce even as US bond yields pull back from multi-year highs, limiting the pair. Moreover, diminishing odds of another RBA rate hike in November cap the Aussie.

USD/JPY hovers above 158.00 amid Japan/ US holiday

USD/JPY extends its range-bound price action into a new week, trading above 158.00 as bulls remain on high alert amid speculation that authorities will step in to prop up the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, softer US bond yields keep US Dollar bulls on the back foot and cap the pair's upside. However, geopolitical uncertainties could limit losses for the safe-haven buck amid thin liquidity due to a holiday in Japan and the US.

Gold remains vulnerable below $4,200 on Fed hike bets

Gold is under mild selling pressure on Monday, trading at around $4,170. The US Dollar advances modestly in thin trading, supported by bets that the Federal Reserve will hike rates at least one more time before year-end.

Bitcoin struggles as ETF outflows, geopolitical uncertainty weigh

Bitcoin hovers around $83,600 on Monday after a 3.1% correction last week. US-listed spot ETFs recorded an outflow of $681.10 million last week, snapping the three-week inflow streak. Geopolitical uncertainty and mixed signals keep investors cautious.

The week ahead: A critical week as earnings and CPI test market

The Oil price is relatively stable this morning, and US and European stock markets are poised to open higher, as risk sentiment shrugs off an escalation in the Middle East and concerns about rising bond yields.

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?