London (AFP) – Global stocks diverged while gold hit a record high on Tuesday as investors juggled geopolitical concerns, with renewed violence in Gaza and a high-stakes US-Russia presidential phone call. Wall Street traded lower, but European stocks rose as German lawmakers approved a massive spending boost for defence and infrastructure. Gold struck a new record high on fears of escalating tensions in the Middle East after Israel launched its most intense strikes on Gaza since a ceasefire with Hamas took effect.
“It is clear that safe haven demand is one of the major drivers behind this gold rally and with the Middle East tensions rising again,” said City Index and FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada. Uncertainty ahead of the phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the conflict in Ukraine also helped boost the safe-haven metal. Frankfurt’s DAX stocks index touched a new all-time high ahead of the German government’s response to concerns over the United States’ wavering commitment to European defence. “International investors, who have increasingly invested in German stocks over the past few months, are hopeful for a significant boost in fiscal policy,” said Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at trading group CMC Markets.
Paris and London’s stock markets also advanced. But on Wall Street, both the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite indices were down more than one percent in afternoon trading. “Traders are evidently still in ‘sell the rally’ mode, even though today has been thankfully free of any tariff headlines so far,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG. Markets have swung sharply following announcements by Trump on the imposition of tariffs on US trading partners and any delays to the measures.
Investors are eyeing this week’s policy decisions from the US Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, and Bank of England, with all three forecast to stand pat on interest rates. “A ‘wait and see’ approach is expected as the Fed grapples with the tough task of evaluating the impact of Trump’s tariff chaos,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. The US central bank’s announcement comes also with updates to its outlook for the economy and interest rates this year, in light of Trump’s trade measures as well as plans to slash taxes, immigration, and federal jobs.
Asian markets rallied on Tuesday following Monday’s positive day on Wall Street, stoked by US data that tempered concerns about a possible recession. Hong Kong led gains thanks to further buying of Chinese tech firms including Alibaba, Tencent, and JD.com. Electric vehicle maker BYD was also a big winner, adding more than four percent — having jumped more than six percent to a record at one point — after unveiling battery technology it says can charge in five minutes.
Shares in Google fell 2.6 percent after the tech giant said it will acquire cloud security platform Wiz for $32 billion, citing the need for greater cybersecurity capacity as artificial intelligence embeds itself in technology infrastructure. Shares in Nvidia shed 1.7 percent ahead of a major conference where it is expected to unveil new AI chips. “This could set the direction for the next big move in NVIDIA’s stock price, and thereby all those companies currently involved in AI development,” said Trade Nation analyst David Morrison.
– Key figures around 1630 GMT –
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 41,513.03 points
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 1.1 percent at 5,612.43
New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.6 percent at 17,525.92
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 8,705.23 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.5 percent at 8,114.57 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.0 percent at 23,380.70 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 37,845.42 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.5 percent at 24,740.57 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,429.76 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0930 from $1.0925 on Monday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at 1.2987 from $1.2990
Dollar/yen: UP at 149.58 yen from 149.12 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 84.17 pence from 84.07 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $70.82 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $67.02 per barrel
burs-rl/sbk
© 2024 AFP
