London (AFP) – European stock markets mostly rose Tuesday after large gains across Asia, as gold and silver prices strongly rebounded in fresh volatile trading. The dollar rose and oil prices steadied as investors weighed company earnings against geopolitical unrest. The price of gold was up 5.5 percent at $4,917.43 an ounce. Last week it reached a record-high close to $5,600 before tumbling. Silver surged almost ten percent to $87 on Tuesday, still well short of the record near $120 it hit last week.
“A sense of calm descended after the precious metal ructions, opening the door for investors to buy on the dip,” noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor. Hopes for the US economy, boosted by forecast-beating manufacturing data, provided investors a much-needed catalyst for a rally Monday on Wall Street. That fed through to Asia, where Tokyo closed with a gain of 3.9 percent on Tuesday. Mumbai’s Nifty index soared almost five percent as investors welcomed President Donald Trump’s announcement of a US-India trade deal. Trump also pledged to cut tariffs on the country’s goods after Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to stop buying Russian oil over the war in Ukraine.
In Europe, Frankfurt and Paris stock markets rose slightly and London dipped nearing the half-way stage. Investors sat tight ahead of interest-rate decisions due Thursday from the European Central Bank and Bank of England. The dollar firmed Tuesday, supported by US President Donald Trump recently tapping Kevin Warsh — considered the most hawkish of his candidates — to head the Federal Reserve.
On the corporate front, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has taken over his artificial intelligence company xAI in a merger aimed at deploying space-based data centres. According to Bloomberg, the combined company would have a valuation of $1.25 trillion. All eyes will be on more earnings from major companies this week, with particular attention on the tech sector and planned investment in artificial intelligence. Traders are keeping tabs also on Washington after Trump urged the House of Representatives to swiftly adopt a spending bill and end a fresh government shutdown.
“The latest US government shutdown looks to provide yet another bout of disruption to the economic calendar for traders and investors alike” with jobs data postponed this week, said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.
– Key figures at around 1100 GMT –
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 10,319.73 points
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 8,188.34
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 24,860.92
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 3.9 percent at 54,720.66 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 26,834.77 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 4,067.74 (close)
New York – Dow: UP 1.1 percent at 49,407.66 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1788 from $1.1793 on Monday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3656 from $1.3667
Dollar/yen: UP at 155.92 yen from 155.60 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 86.32 pence from 86.29 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $66.34 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $62.24 per barrel
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© 2024 AFP
