News review - rising metal prices, copper shortages, rising stock prices, corporate news
Copper and gold hit record highs in Asian trading on Monday, while silver jumped above $30. The sharp rise was all the more remarkable at a time when bonds and currencies were moving in ranges and with more uncertainty than optimism about the outlook.
Copper is rising thanks to China's most determined efforts to bring its real estate market out of the doldrums.
On Friday, officials pledged a trillion yuan in funding for affordable housing and redevelopment and said local governments would act as buyers. Much is unclear, such as the impact on property prices, and property developer share prices fluctuated on Monday
Trafigura and IXM traders are looking for physical copper to cover large short positions in Chicago futures. Trading volumes surged in Shanghai and London and silver continued to rise, gaining 3% in Asia to top $30 an ounce.
Meanwhile, global stocks were just below last week's record peak.
The 18% year-on-year rise in gold prices has been variously attributed to buying in China, global political tensions and expectations that US rates will soon begin to fall, seen as a boon for a metal that generally does not produce yields.
Beijing has launched anti-dumping checks against imports of chemicals from the EU and the US. China has signaled it will respond to US and EU trade barriers by launching an anti-dumping investigation into chemical imports.
An economic war could break out between China and Europe - Bloomberg. This was provoked by the EU’s attempt to deal with Chinese dumping on the European market.
Small European companies are entering the American market. Online sales help identify the most promising locations for stores - WSJ.
Want to buy SpaceX shares? You must know someone. Shares of Elon Musk's rocket and satellite company are a hot ticket for investors, but SpaceX tightly controls access to them - WSJ.
The market value of AstraZeneca (AZN) increased by $3 billion after its coronavirus vaccine was withdrawn from circulation worldwide. Now the company will not disclose anything new beyond the recognized side effect of the vaccine in the form of thrombosis. This means you won’t have to pay beyond what is already known. This is what investors are hoping for.
Bad news for the economy is again good news for the stock market. Just like good news, market analysts say.
Given the way U.S. stocks reacted last week to the latest stream of mixed economic data, a summer rally seems all but inevitable. Investors are inferring that the silver lining has returned, along with expectations that the Fed will achieve its goal of steering the US economy toward a soft landing as monetary policy helps bring inflation down.
That's the ideal scenario for stocks, bonds, commodities, cryptocurrencies and everything else that's been soaring this year, market analysts told MarketWatch.
The world's largest hedge fund recently bought shares in some G7 companies and halved its investment in a Chinese electric vehicle maker. Barron's. Bridgewater Associates made a big bet on Apple stock, more than doubled its stake in Nvidia stock, tripled its investment in Microsoft stock and cut its investment in NIO stock in the first quarter. The fund disclosed its share transactions on a form it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The hedge fund had $97.2 billion in assets as of June 30, 2023, making it the world's largest hedge fund by assets, according to Pensions & Investments.
The daily opening and closing of the stock market may one day become meaningless if an idea that gains traction on Wall Street becomes widespread.
24X National Exchange, a trading platform backed by hedge fund founder Steve Cohen, is seeking SEC approval to operate a 24-hour exchange. Larger players are also showing interest in the idea, with the New York Stock Exchange reportedly surveying market participants about interest in 24/7 access.
Nvidia's (NVDA) long-awaited results are expected to be a key catalyst for markets next week.
Investors will also be closely watching the results of Target (TGT), Palo Alto Networks (PANW) and Lowe's (LOW).
The week is expected to be calmer on the economic front.
There will be new data on activity in the manufacturing and services sectors, as well as final readings of consumer sentiment for May. The minutes of the May Fed meeting are also expected to be published on Wednesday afternoon.
Microsoft (MSFT) will be showing off new Surface hardware and artificial intelligence in Windows 11 ahead of its Build event the next day.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) will host its 2024 Investor Day in New York City at the New York Stock Exchange.
The four-day Dell Technologies (DELL) global event will kick off at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.