US Indexes saw gains on Thursday, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ 100 outperforming amid broad-based strength in semiconductors and memory names due to two bullish stories: 1) President Trump said Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and build its chips in America, and 2) Apple CEO Cook said it plans to raise prices due to the memory chip crunch. As expected, it meant Technology was the clear outperforming sector, followed by Consumer Discretionary and Communication Services. Nonetheless, sectors were overall mixed, with Energy and Health the laggards. Energy saw 1.7% losses despite crude prices settling flattish. Middle East newsflow was actually fairly sparse, as participants await the formal signing of the US/Iran MoU on Friday in Geneva, which will bring its own headline risk. The Dollar continued on its ascent seen after the hawkish FOMC on Wednesday, to the detriment of all G10 FX peers, with the Swiss Franc and Japanese Yen the underperformers. USD/JPY reached a peak of 161.81, with focus on 161.95 and the round 162 to the upside, as participants will be on intervention watch. On that footing, USD/JPY moved sharply lower from 161.80 to c. 160.90 with around 30 minutes left of cash trade on no headline driver. Precious metals saw weakness as spot silver underperformed its counterpart. Treasuries reversed some of Wednesday’s post-FOMC losses on Thursday. It was also Quadruple witching on Thursday, which likely accounts for some of the choppy trade, ahead of the US market holiday on Friday. Regarding US data, muted reactions were seen; Initial claims were little changed, continued claims rose above expectations, and the Philly Fed beat. With US markets closed for the Juneteenth holiday, global stocks ended a strong week on a cautious note as the recent relief over an interim peace deal between the US and Iran gave way to a focus on the challenges of securing a lasting agreement. Europe’s Stoxx 600 was little changed, while Asian stocks retreated 0.4% from an all-time high. Markets in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan were shut as well. Meanwhile in the UK, Gilts led a rise in European bond yields after Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham won a seat in Parliament, handing him a pathway to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for his job. Investors are debating whether a Burnham premiership might shift to a looser fiscal policy. In rates, the Pound outperformed most major currencies, while the Dollar held at its highest level since March. Bitcoin fell for a fourth consecutive day. Despite Friday’s hiccup, global markets are wrapped in a debt-funded AI euphoria: stocks are closing a pivotal week marked by the US-Iran interim deal, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s first policy meeting and the early days of SpaceX as a public company. Stocks have shown unprecedented resilience, buoyed by the frenzy around artificial intelligence and the billions of debt dollars funding it on the assumption that cheaper Chinese alternatives will not be able to dethrone expensive, token-sucking US incumbents. Elsewhere, Oil closed higher by 1% while Gold ended Friday with a 1.27% loss – although those losses have been mostly reversed overnight.
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For anyone following my Platinum Service it made 1640 points on Friday and is now ahead by 7807 points for June after ending May with a loss of 1104 points, having ended April with a gain of 1730 points, after ending March with a massive gain of 9002 points, having closed February with a strong gain of 5482 points after ending January with a gain of 4757 points, having closed December with a gain of 2599 points, after ending the month of November with a gain of 4542 points, after ending October with a nice gain of 5110 points after closing September with a gain of 3774 points while ending August with a gain of 3362 points after closing July with a gain of 3753 points after closing June with a gain of 3530 points, having closed May with a gain of 3606 points, after closing April with a gain of 7685 points after closing March with a gain of 2254 points while closing February with a gain of 4180 points. January ended with a gain of 2768 points while 1997 points were gained in December. October ended with a gain of 2179 points, after closing September with a gain of 4402 points, following a loss of 301 points in August. July gained 1908 points while June saw a gain of 2074 points. The Platinum Service made a record 9619 points in October 2022. Since I started this New Platinum Service in June 2015 it has averaged a monthly gain of over 2300 points. I have a YouTube Channel which contains recent interviews I have given This can be viewed by clicking HERE Please subscribe to this for new interview notification
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