• Champagne moods on European stock markets
• Protests across several US cities
• Beijing paused some agricultural imports like soybeans from the US
• Protests across several US cities
• Beijing paused some agricultural imports like soybeans from the US
Recently, positive sentiment dominates the global financial markets. After the weekend, the main stock indices continue to rise without paying attention to the recent bad news. The constantly increasing number of new coronavirus infections and the rising tensions between the US and China do not stop market bulls.
Europen closed in the green on Monday, French CAC40 and London FTSE 100 closed 1.5% higher, and Italian FTSE MIB added over 1.7%. The German stock index was closed today due to the holiday, but DAX futures managed to break above last week's highs at 11800 pts.
US indices are trading slightly higher as well, despite riots that occurred over the weekend. American journalist Charlie Gasparino said that ongoing protests could contribute to the adoption of a new stimulus package before the summer break. China today announced that state-owned companies are restricting imports of agricultural products from the United States, including soybeans. Soybean is obviously one of the major agricultural markets in the United States, but the market reaction was initially limited. During today's session, Nasdaq adds 0.40%, while S&P500 and Dow Jones are growing around 0.30%.
Weaker tone for the U.S. dollar was seen underpinning precious metals. The Dollar Index was down 0.48%. Gold prices managed to erase earlier losses to move higher. Gold is trading around $1737.00 an ounce. Meanwhile, silver futures rose 1.7%, at $18.815 an ounce. Silver futures on Friday posted a gain of nearly 24% for the month, the largest since 2011.
There is not much on the agenda tomorrow when it comes to macro releases. RBA Rate Statement will be the key release of the Asian session while Swiss Manufacturing PMI will be on watch during European trading hours. Apart from that, API Crude Oil Stock Change will be published in the evening.
GBPUSD is testing 1.248 resistance level in afternoon trading on Monday, its highest level since beginning of May, as the UK lifted some lockdown restrictions. From today schools, outdoor markets and car showrooms will be open. Meanwhile, investors await a fourth round of trade Brexit talks this week. Sterling had been recently under pressure on news that the Bank of England is considering negative interest rates. Source: xStation5
