Monday,20 May 2024 16:45:40

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Monday,20 May 2024 at 15:55

European markets were higher Monday with the defensive nature of the FTSE 100 coming to the fore, amid fresh uncertainty in the Middle East following the confirmation of the death of Iran’s President and Saudi Arabia flagged concerns about their King’s health. Equities also enjoyed a boost from mining stocks on the back of record-high prices for both copper and gold.

Wall Street's main indexes started the week in bullish form. One of the biggest features of this week will be Wednesday’s earnings release from artificial intelligence bellwether Nvidia Corp which has driven a major chunk of the S&P 500’s gains in 2024 and comprises 5% of its market value.

The dollar remained steady as traders awaited clues later this week on the US rate path in the wake of cautious comments from Federal Reserve officials, even as inflation shows signs of cooling.

Gold hovered around record highs after Iran’s president was killed in a helicopter crash. Demand for the metal was also pushed up by renewed speculation the Federal Reserve will be minded to cut interest rates a couple of times this year.

Despite volatility in the Middle East region amid political uncertainty oil prices remained relatively flat having finished the previous week +1% on improved economic indicators from the US and China.

In stock news:

All eyes will be on Nvidia earnings this week. The £2.3 trillion company is the third largest S&P 500 stock by market cap, which means that the chipmaker is big enough that a significant reaction could be a market-moving event!

Staying within the technology sector Microsoft will this week show off its latest artificial intelligence projects at the company’s annual developer conference. The company is expected to announce how Windows will enable the AI PC as well as highlight its advantages versus its competitors via ownership of Windows, which provides access to a huge PC userbase.

Markets

the close

FTSE 100 8,426 +0.07%

FTSE 250 20,859 +0.53%

DAX 18,767 +0.34%

16:53

Dow Jones 40,044 +0.10%

S&P 500 5,320 +0.33%

NASDAQ 16,778 +0.55%

Fixed Income

UK 10-YR YIELD 4.17

Exchange Rates

GBP/USD 1.270

GBP/EUR 1.169

Commodities

Gold $2,424 +0.44%

Brent $83.92 +0.17%

Important - No news or research item should be construed as a recommendation to trade. The inclusion of securities within this report does not necessarily imply their suitability for individual portfolios or situations in respect of which further advice should be sought. Information contained in this report has been compiled from sources believed to be reliable but is not warranted to be accurate or complete.