European stocks closed slightly higher on Friday amid a mix of corporate earnings reports, while markets assessed the outlook for European growth and interest rates. The STOXX 50 edged up to 5,674, and the STOXX 600 gained 0.2% to close at a record 575. Sanofi rose 3% on better-than-expected third-quarter earnings, and Saab jumped 6% after raising its full-year organic sales forecast. NatWest also jumped 5% on higher third-quarter earnings and an improved performance target. ENI also jumped nearly 2% after releasing its earnings results. Meanwhile, Safran fell 1.4% despite beating analysts'...
The USD/CHF pair trades with mild losses around 0.9020 amid the cautious mood during the early European trading hours on Monday. The trading volumes will be light in another holiday-shortened week as traders await the New Year holiday. On Friday, the US ISM Manufacturing Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for December will be in the spotlight. The elevated inflation in the US and the concern that President-elect Donald Trump's policies could fuel inflation, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) signaled that it's likely to cut rates more gradually in 2025 than it had projected in...
GBP/USD pulled back on Monday, kicking off the new trading week with a fresh down day. The pair fell around one-third of one percent, easing back below 1.2550 as bids remain mired in a near-term congestion pattern on the bottom end of recent price action. The UK's data release schedule this week is devoid of any meaningful prints, leaving Cable at the mercy of broader market flows in a tepid year-end environment.Outside of some general profit-taking and long-term position management, global market volumes are crimped tightly by the year-end holiday season. Markets will be further constrained...
UBS expects silver prices to climb in 2025, buoyed by lower U.S. real yields and stronger global industrial production, even as the metal struggles to match gold's central bank-driven gains. Silver prices rose over 20% in 2024 but recently lost momentum due to higher U.S. yields, a strong dollar, and growth concerns outside the U.S. The metal is trading near its 200-day moving average, with speculative short positions growing and ETF holdings stabilizing after significant outflows earlier this year. Despite these headwinds, UBS remains bullish, maintaining a target of $36-$38 per ounce for...
Silver eased to below the $29 per ounce mark, the lowest level since September, amid the outlook of a hawkish Fed and uncertain demand for silver's industrial utility. Concerns of stubborn inflation drove the FOMC to project fewer rate cuts for the upcoming year, driving markets to trim their exposure to non-yielding bullion assets. While the earlier rate cuts by the Fed supported bullion enough to raise silver prices by 23% this year, pessimistic demand for silver as an industrial input drove the metal to sharply underperform gold in the period. Overcapacity in China's solar panel...
Gold prices dipped in thin trade on Monday as traders awaited fresh catalysts, including next week's U.S. economic data that could influence the Federal Reserve's 2025 interest-rate outlook, as well as policies from incoming President Donald Trump. Spot gold fell 0.7% to $2,602.67 per ounce. U.S. gold futures were down 0.7% at $2,615.70. I think it's just the holiday thin trade. Perhaps some squaring of the books before year-end," said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals. Geopolitical tensions are expected to remain high into next year, with central...