Rising geopolitical tensions caused by the escalating war in Ukraine have had a significant impact on financial markets. Gold is showing the strongest weekly gain in 13 months, investors are looking for safe assets, and oil and gas prices have reached new highs. This is reported by Reuters, writes UNN.
Gold is on track for its biggest weekly gain in 13 months as geopolitical tensions rise. Investors are turning to safe-haven assets, while stocks in Asia have risen on the back of a recovery in the tech sector following a rise in Nvidia sales.
It was a tense week: Russia lowered the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons and launched a missile at Ukraine, which reduced interest in risky assets, although bitcoin approached the $100,000 mark.
European stock exchanges are expecting a slight increase: futures on the Eurostoxx 50, DAX, and FTSE rose between 0.17% and 0.35%. Meanwhile, gas prices in Europe reached their highest level in a year, and investors sought safe assets, which supported the Swiss franc and German bonds.
In Asia, chipmaker stocks rose, especially in Taiwan (+1.5%) and South Korea (+1%), following a record rise in Nvidia shares. However, in China, sentiment deteriorated due to weak corporate earnings: the CSI300 and Hang Seng indices fell by 1.6% and 1.75%, respectively.
Gold rose by 0.7% to $2688 per ounce, up more than 4.5% for the week, the best result since October 2023.
Adani Group's shares and bonds remain under pressure after the company's chairman Gautam Adani was charged with fraud by the US prosecutor's office.
Russia lowered the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons and launched a hypersonic missile down the Dnipro River. This escalation led to a rise in oil prices: Brent rose by 4.5% over the week and reached $74.44 per barrel.
The euro continues to fall due to economic and political problems in the EU, dropping to $1.0469, close to the low of last year. At the same time, the dollar index rose by 0.4%, reaching a 13-month high.
In Japan, core inflation remained above 2% in October, which increased pressure to raise rates. The probability of a rate hike by the Bank of Japan by the end of the year is estimated at 57%, supporting the yen, which ended the week at 154.82 per dollar.
Recall
Chinese geologists have discovered ultra-large gold reserves at a deposit in the central province of Hunan .