Gold is trading almost flat during the beginning of Monday’s session. The price of the precious metal remains within a relatively narrow range, as the opposing forces of heightened geopolitical risk, on one side, and the Fed’s increasingly hawkish stance, on the other, somewhat cancel each other out. The price of bullion has been caught in this tug-of-war between the support provided by the war in Ukraine, which enhances gold’s haven appeal, and the downside created by the tightening of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, with a stronger dollar and higher treasury yields raising the cost of holding the non-yielding precious metal.
Ricardo Evangelista – Senior Analyst, ActivTrades
European shares
Stock benchmarks opened without clear direction while market volatility was on the rise on Monday as investors digested a batch of mixed economic news from different regions. Despite positive CPI data that topped estimates in China overnight, the Asian trading session was marked by lingering worries regarding the Covid resurgence in the area as investors still anticipate an impact on both demand and supply chains. Meanwhile, in Europe, investor focus took a break from the major market drivers, such as monetary policies and the war in Ukraine, to drive their attention towards the political situation in France. While the far-right candidate, Marine Le Pen, qualified for the second round of the election, investors welcomed the advance of current President E. Macron registered in polling stations. Volatility is likely to remain high on French stocks, especially as the traditional debate between the two candidates looms on the April 20. The best European performances are unsurprisingly being registered by French shares, with Energy and Financial stocks such as BNP, AXA and Total Energie trading on top of the board. Elsewhere, investors are braced for the start of the earning season due later this week, with big names from the US Banking sector like JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley publishing their results on Wednesday and Thursday.
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.
