Early Thursday trading started under the spell of continued risk appetite, with the depreciation of the safe haven dollar reflecting the sentiment of investors, whose mood lifted after the US President backtracked on his intention to postpone the approval of an economic stimulus package. With global stocks on the rise, the euro would normally be one of the beneficiaries of the current risk-on stance, but today the single currency’s performance is subdued relative to the dollar as investors await the speeches of ECB officials during the day, who in the past, under similar circumstances, have attempted to talk-down euro strength.
Gold is slightly up in the early trading, while volatility remains low. The spot price was unable to surpass the first key level of $1,895, continuing a slow dance just above $1,890. It seems investors are in a wait and see mode as they are still hoping for new stimulus from central banks to help the economy’s recovery. Meanwhile, they are carefully following US politics and the approaching presidential election in early November, trying to predict what impact it will have on US monetary policy and consequently on the US dollar and the gold price.
From a technical point of view, bullion remains in a lateral trading range between $1,850 and $2,070, waiting for a clear new direction.
Carlo Alberto De Casa – Chief analyst, ActivTrades
EUROPEAN SHARES
European equities traded higher on Thursday, alongside Asian benchmarks and Futures on the S&P 500, as optimism about a new US stimulus package continues to sustain market sentiment. Investors’ risk appetite continues to grow as US lawmakers move closer to a new deal, while yesterday’s minutes from the last FOMC meeting also showed further support from US central bankers may also be on its way and this is helping to drive stocks higher everywhere. It is interesting to note that while the EU already successfully reassured investors by providing an unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus response earlier this year, most EU stock traders are focusing solely on the latest developments in the US, despite record infection numbers being registered on the old continent (France, Italy and Spain). Increased market volatility is expected this afternoon as the ECB’s Monetary Policy Statement as well as the Initial Jobless Claims data in the US loom. Today’s best performances come from Madrid with financial and energy shares leading the IBEX-35 Index higher, inside its major resistance zone around the crucial 7,000pts level.
Pierre Veyret– Technical analyst, ActivTrades
Disclaimer: opinions are personal to the authors and do not reflect the opinions of LeapRate. This is not a trading advice.
Experienced writer and journalist, working in the global online trading sector, Steffy is the Editor of LeapRate. She has previous experience as a copywriter and has been with the company since January 2020. Steffy has a British and American Studies degree from St. Kliment Ochridski University in Sofia.