The Ftse 100 has soared more than 100 points today despite this weekend’s market “turmoil” in regards to the price of metals, while Wall Street has opened sluggish this afternoon.
Despite volatility, the UK’s stock market index has hit a new record of more than 10,300 points, whereas the US share index opened flat following a sell-off of gold and silver.
Furthermore, the Dow Jones industrial average has gained 0.25 per cent, or 115 points, to 49,007.93, while the tech-focused Nasdaq has opened flat.
UK’s Ftse 100 appears to have benefited from a rally in the “defensive” stocks the index holds, with Unilever and catering giant Compass up two per cent and 1.9 per cent when trading opened, respectively.
The Ftse 100 has hit a new record
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Gold, which was down almost 10 per cent in early trading, is now only down 2.95 per cent today at £3,472.11 in early trading. Siliver, which experience 15 per cent slip in value early on Monday, is currently down 5.97 per cent.
Analysts have noted that traders may be more confident in the value of the US dollar and trajectory of interest rates following confirmation of President Donald Trump’s pick to be the new Federal Reserve chairman.
President Trump is understood to be considering Kevin Warsh for the role, who has previously served in a hawkish role on the Fed during the noughties.
This has ran contrary to the White House’s stated aim of slashing interest rates to historic lows, which are widely considered as inflationary, and has seen the dollar jump in value.
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Tom Stevenson, the investment director at Fidelity International, broke down the current state of markets following the “turmoil” of the last week.
He explained: “The turmoil in commodity markets spilled over into stocks, as markets re-opened on Monday. Leveraged investors, who had borrowed to buy gold and silver, were thought to be liquidating other assets to meet margin calls.
“That meant that the market’s recent high-flyers were in the spotlight, with Korea’s buoyant Kospi index an early target for cash-strapped investors. Tech stocks like SK Hynix and Samsung were hardest hit.
“The targeting of high-flying tech stocks rekindled fears that had seemed to ease recently of a bursting AI bubble. Last week, the value of Microsoft fell by $360billion as the US company announced a surge in data centre spending, reigniting fears about the sustainability of Silicon Valley’s vast investment in AI infrastructure.
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“In other markets, oil was sharply lower, with the Brent benchmark down 5% at $66 a barrel. Copper and aluminium, two industrial metals that had also been caught up in the recent rally, fell by two per cent.”
Enrique Diaz-Alvarez, the chief economist at global financial services firm Ebury, added: “The appointment of Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve seems to have helped stop the rot for the dollar.
“While Warsh has recently aligned himself with Mr Trump in calling for a lower fed funds rate, the fact that he was previously seen as a hawk during his stint as a Fed governor in the late-noughties means that he is probably less likely to advocate for aggressive cuts than messrs Hassett and Reider.
“His appointment may also act to calm fears over Fed independence, given that he has been a vocal advocate of preserving central bank autonomy in the past. Of course, any pick by the president will be regarded as a Trump loyalist to some extent, but we certainly view the Warsh appointment as the lesser of three evils.”