On Friday, the major US indices closed with a slight increase. The S&P 500 index increased by 0.08%, the Nasdaq added 0.09%, and the Dow Jones Industrials jumped by 0.19%. Inflationary pressures continue to be a major theme of economists in the US. The key inflation indicator (PCE) showed that prices are rising faster than expected. The fundamental picture for the dollar index remains weak. However, investors have renewed appetite for meme stocks. GameStop Corp (GME) and AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) are back in the growth leaders.
In the US and the UK, it is a bank holiday today, so traders should not expect much activity in the financial markets.
Oil prices reached a 2-year all-time high on Friday but corrected slightly by the end of the trading session. At Monday’s opening, the price of “black gold” rose slightly again. A big OPEC+ meeting is expected this week on Tuesday. With fuel demand rising ahead of summer, oil prices are likely to continue to rise.
Gold is back above $1,900 per ounce. With prices in the US rising for almost all commodity groups, this rise in inflation will be good for gold and other precious metals. For example, hedge fund analysts are already predicting silver will rise to $50 this year.
Asian stock indices showed mixed dynamics on Friday. Asia-Pacific’s broadest stock index outside Japan, the MSCI, added 0.4% and increased by 2.2% last week. Japan’s Nikkei decreased by 1.1% on Friday, while Australia’s ASX200 made a new all-time high. Chinese blue chips dropped 0.4% as recent macrostatistic data showed a slight slowdown in the manufacturing sector. However, the Chinese yuan continued its rally to three-year highs.
Main market quotes:
- S&P 500 (F) 4,204.11 +3.23 (+0.08%)
- Dow Jones 34,529.45 +64.81 (+0.19%)
- DAX 15,519.98 +113.25 (+0.74%)
- FTSE 100 7,022.61 +2.94 (+0.04%)
- USD Index 90.06 +0.09 (+0.09%)
Important events:
- China Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 04:00 (GMT+3).
