- S&P 500 and the Nasdaq remain at record highs
- Weakest NFP report in eight months.
- Precious metals under pressure
European bourses finished the final session of the week higher as better-than-expected industrial data and factory orders from Germany lifted market sentiment. Meanwhile, investors remained concerned about record COVID infections and new lockdowns across Europe. ECB economic bulletin showed that Euro Area economic indicators pointed to a fourth-quarter economic contraction. DAX 30 gained 0.58%, CAC40 rose 0.65% and FTSE100 finished 0.2% higher.
US indices are trading mixed. Dow Jones erased early gains and is trading 0.3% lower, mainly due to poor performance of 3M, Verizon and Goldman Sachs stocks. Meanwhile S&P 500 and the Nasdaq reached fresh all-time highs even despite grim NFP report which showed that payrolls fell by 140K well below market expectations of a 71K rise mainly due to losses in leisure and hospitality, private education, and government while manufacturing employment came above analysts' expectations. However it seems that sentiment continued to be supported by hopes for more fiscal stimulus in Washington following the Democrat victories in Georgia runoff elections. On the week, the Dow is on track to gain more than 1% and both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq around 2%.
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Create account Try a demo Download mobile app Download mobile appUS crude futures are trading 1.85% higher at $51.78 a barrel, while Brent contract rose 2.15% to $ 55.55. Elsewhere, gold futures fell 3.6% to $ 1,843.00 / oz, while silver plunged more than 8% and is trading near $ 24.80 / oz as bond yields rallied in the United States. This drove money into the US dollar, which negatively affects precious metals. Bitcoin reached new all-time high at $ 41,800.
Gold fell sharply today as Senate runoff elections in Georgia and riots in US Capitol pushed the dollar and Treasury yields up. At the moment price is testing 200 SMA (red line). If the current sentiment prevails, the downward move could be extended to the 1820/oz handle or even 1765.00/oz level. On the other hand, if buyers will manage to halt declines here, then another upward move towards resistance at $1858.00/oz could be launched. Source: xStation5
