US Stocks Rally into Weekend – Nasdaq up 1.25%
US stock markets closed out last week on a positive footing as they rose again in trading on Friday, with optimism increasing again that trade deals will occur. The Dow edged just 0.05% higher by the close, but tech stocks helped to pull the S&P up 0.74%, and the Nasdaq up 1.26%, to better levels. The dollar also edged higher against the majors, with the havens again hit the hardest, the DXY up 0.06% to 99.47. Treasury yields took a dip, the 2-year dropping 4.9 basis points to 3.748% and the 10-year off 8 basis points to close out at 4.235%. Oil prices pushed higher on Friday in quieter trading conditions, Brent up 0.48% to $66.87 and WTI up 0.37% to $63.02, whilst gold dropped on trade hopes, down 0.85% on the day to close out the week at $3,318.22 an ounce.
Magnificent 7 in Focus this Week
US stocks have experienced a strong rebound after suffering early in the month to recover nearly all of their losses on the indices; however, these moves will likely be put to the test in the coming days with some key members of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ due to report earnings. Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Apple are all due to update the market this week, and a consistent trend from these major players could see strong moves in the market. Last week’s results were generally mixed, and if that pattern continues, expect indices to remain bid on growth hopes; however, if we see a strong bias, either higher or lower, then this could set a new trend for the coming weeks.
Quiet Calendar Day to Kick off a Busy Week
It should be another interesting week ahead for global financial markets, with many investors hoping that we see the focus moving away from pure trade talk and back over to fundamentals. Investors will likely use today’s trading sessions to assess the plethora of recent updates we have had to plan longer-term positions. There is little on the schedule for the first two trading sessions of the day, and it is a similar story in the US session, although Canadian Federal Elections will keep those north of the border on their toes if voting doesn’t go as planned. This does change as we progress through the week, with big US jobs, inflation numbers, and earnings reports due, as well as the Bank of Japan rate call, which could lift volatility again.
