• The last session of this week on the stock exchanges brought substantial gains in stock index valuations. The Polish WIG20 gained 1.31%, the German DAX added 1.39%, the French CAC40 gained 0.89%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 index, representing the broader market, added 1.37%.

  • On Wall Street, technology companies lead the gains, with the Nasdaq index currently seeing the highest increases, nearly 2%. The S&P 500 is up 1.13%, and the Russell 2000, which includes smaller capitalization companies, is up 1%.

  • Bullish sentiments are driven by reactions to very good quarterly results from Microsoft and Alphabet. Moreover, we observe close to a 5% increase in the shares of Nvidia, a company that in the eyes of investors is a key "player" in the AI sector.

  • Abbvie is down nearly 4.0% after publishing its first-quarter results for 2024. Investor attention focused on the projected decline in sales volume of the blockbuster arthritis drug Humira, which is an important source of revenue for the company.

  • If the Nasdaq index manages to close the session with the current momentum, it will be its "best" session since the beginning of the year.

  • Paradoxically, the rises were not even harmed by a slightly higher PCE inflation reading, which theoretically could increase the likelihood of more hawkish Federal Reserve decisions in the medium term. A minor deviation from the median forecast of analysts, however, failed to exert pressure on the market.

  • In addition to the stock market, there is also significant activity in the FX market, where the Japanese yen is recording massive sell-offs. The currency of Japan is noted at new 34-year lows against the dollar due to the lack of an interest rate hike and the maintenance of an ultra-loose monetary policy narrative by the local establishment.

  • Leaders of the gains in the broader FX market are the Australian dollar and the U.S. dollar.

  • Final UoM data indicated slightly higher inflationary pressure in the USA. One-year inflation expectations stood at 3.2% compared to the last reading of 2.9%. For five-year forecasts, it was 3.0% compared to 2.8% expected earlier.

  • NATGAS is down over 3.5% today, thereby erasing some of the gains (growth gap) caused by the rolling of the futures contract for this commodity.

  • Precious metals do not record excessive changes in valuations during today's session. Currently, an ounce of gold costs $2338. Silver shows slightly different behavior. The prices of this metal are down today by 0.6%.

  • However, worse sentiments are observed in the cryptocurrency market, where Bitcoin is down nearly 1.5% intraday and is quoted below the $64,000 zone. A similar downward dynamic is also observed on Ethereum.