OIL
Brent oil prices declined during early Friday trading but are still poised to conclude the week with a nearly 4% increase, having reached the $85 per barrel mark for the first time since November. The uptick in prices followed the International Energy Agency's announcement of a revision in its oil demand forecast for 2024, now projecting an increase of 110,000 barrels per day compared to previous estimates. Additionally, the revelation of lower-than-expected US stockpiles contributed to the price surge, which notably coincided with gains in the US dollar, an atypical occurrence. From a technical standpoint, breaching the $85 per barrel resistance level could trigger further gains, reflecting a shift in market sentiment from concerns about demand to a heightened focus on tightening supply dynamics.
Ricardo Evangelista – Senior Analyst, ActivTrades
Source: ActivTrader
EUROPEAN SHARES
Stocks opened slightly higher in Europe for the last trading session of the week, but uncertainty is on the rise following yesterday’s data release and ahead of next week’s FOMC meeting.
EU benchmarks pared some of yesterday’s losses, reacting positively on support levels with gains in financial and energy shares offsetting losses from consumer non-cyclicals and tech stocks.
Yesterday’s US PPI data cooled investors’ appetite for risk after it confirmed the rising price acceleration for February, first seen in the latest US CPI reading last week. This doesn’t support the case of a quick dovish move from the Fed.
The FOMC meeting will take place next week, and no rate move is expected from the central bank. However, investors will still try to get more clues on the likely pace and schedule of the next monetary easing cycle during Fed Chairman Powell’s press conference.
With most of the big news behind us and the FOMC meeting looming, we don’t expect any sharp and directional move for equities during today’s session.
The STOXX-50 index trades slightly below the 5,000.0pts mark, slightly above its bullish trendline, and technical indicators tend to show that the trend is progressively slowing down.
Pierre Veyret – Technical analyst, ActivTrades
Source: ActivTrader
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