Daily Summary: US500 at new all-time highs 🚀

Today's session in European stock markets is marked by moderate declines. The German DAX index lost 0.67%, and the French CAC 40 fell by 0.36%. The Polish WIG20 index, however, showed unusual resilience in the face of the general downward trend, gaining 0.65% and becoming a leader among other European indices.

In contrast to European markets, American indices are faring better. NASDAQ is currently up 0.7%, and the S&P 500 has risen by over 0.66%. The US500 index has crossed the 5000 points barrier, setting new all-time highs.

Fed's Kashkari stated that the current monetary policy may not be as pressure-inducing on demand as it may seem. Regarding inflation data, he noted that a few more months of good readings will allow for certainty in returning to the 2% level. If the job market remains strong, cutting interest rates will be a relatively slow process, he added. Kashkari suggests that for now, 2-3 interest rate cuts this year seem appropriate, while the market is still pricing in about 5 such cuts.

In the banking sector, uncertainty surrounding the liquidity risk of New York Community Bancorp is prominent. The bank's shares lost even 20% today, but comments from the President and bank deposit data somewhat calmed the market. Currently, losses have been reduced to "merely" 1%.

Riksbank published at 09:30 today the minutes from its monetary policy meeting held on January 31, 2024. The document indicates that Riksbank members are not in favor of rapid interest rate cuts and prefer to wait for greater certainty that inflation is heading in the right direction. The SEK gained following these statements.

In the FX market, the British pound and the Canadian dollar are currently performing the best. Significant sell-offs are observed in the Swiss franc.

In the commodities market, cocoa continues to record massive gains, with an intraday increase of 3.5%. Natural gas notes a 1.5% decline, while crude oil gains just over 0.5% due to higher US crude inventory data but lower data for other petroleum products. Precious metals are under pressure today, with palladium currently losing 5.5% and silver 0.5%.