As inflation cools down, the US stock market continues to hit record highs, while French President Emmanuel Macron's "magic operation" triggers a dual kill of French stocks and bonds, and the price of gold has risen for the first time in four weeks. The US chip sector continues to lead the way.
During the week of June 10th to June 14th, the US CPI and PPI reports boosted market sentiment, and the S&P and Nasdaq hit record highs. However, compared with this, the European capital market cannot hide its turmoil. Due to the fear of France leaving the EU and being engulfed in a financial crisis, the French stock index plunged to a more than two-year low.
Inflation data sparks expectation of interest rate cuts in September. This week, the S&P and Nasdaq rose by 1.6% and 3.2%, respectively. The Nasdaq 100 Index ETF led the way in overseas large asset classes.
Due to French President Macron's early call for elections despite lagging support, the economic security of the entire Europe is threatened as the far right or left party has large spending plans that could potentially lead France towards a financial crisis and even exit from the EU. This has caused European stocks to fall more than 2% this week, the worst in eight months, and the French stock index to plummet more than 6%, hitting the largest drop in over two years.
In terms of commodities, gold prices rose for the first time in four weeks. This week, London aluminum, lead, and nickel fell more than 2%.
Crude oil futures hovered near two-week highs, with US oil rising for the first time in four weeks. Brent and US crude both rose by 2.78% and 3.86%, respectively, this week. Goldman Sachs released a report earlier this week stating that the surge in summer fuel demand may cause a 'big gap' in the oil market in Q3, and they insist on maintaining oil prices in the range of $75-90 per barrel by 2024.
The chip sector led the way for the US stock market this week, with Nvidia, Apple, and other AI stocks hitting new highs. With 'Apple Intelligence', Apple briefly surpassed Microsoft's market cap to take the crown in the US stock market.
Editor/Somer