Weekly Markets Snapshot: Markets Ride a Rollercoaster

London: 1 March 2024 (TraderMade): Markets Take a Wild Ride This Week! This week has been a rollercoaster for investors, from soaring equities in Asia to a mixed bag in Europe and the US. Get the full breakdown on the major movers and shakers in forex, stocks, energy, and metals, and stay ahead of the curve!

This week saw a volatile mix of gains and losses across various financial markets.

Key Takeaways

• Forex: The South African Rand (ZAR) emerged as the biggest winner against the US Dollar this week, while the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) took the biggest hit.
• Global Equities: Asian markets rebounded significantly, European markets saw mixed performance, and US markets ended primarily positive.
• Energy: Both Brent (UKOIL) and WTI (OIL) crude prices rallied over 4%, with Natural Gas (NATGAS) prices surging nearly 12%.
• Metals: Gold (XAUUSD) prices climbed over 1.6%, while Silver (XAGUSD) prices dipped slightly.

Forex

The South African Rand (ZAR) continued its recent strength against the US Dollar, reaching a weekly high of 19.35826 on 26 February. It was trading at 19.17645 when writing.

Conversely, the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) weakened against the USD, falling to a low of 0.6086 by the end of the week. It was trading at 0.6086.

Global Equities

Asian Markets

Asian markets staged a strong comeback after a dip earlier in the week.

The Nikkei (JPN225)

Japan's benchmark index surged 3% over the last week to 40057.

The Hang Seng (HKG33)

Hong Kong's index initially surged 1.46%, then saw a dip of 4.3%, and recovered from a low of 16143.5 to close 2.52% higher at 16551.

European Markets

European markets witnessed a more mixed performance.

FTSE

Over the last week, the UK's benchmark index, FTSE (UK100), initially dipped 0.97%, then recovered 1.03% to settle at 7682.6.

CAC

France's CAC (FRA40) dropped 0.44%, surged 0.81%, and dipped 0.6% to 7927.3.

DAX

The German DAX (GER30) led the gainers, rising 2.17% to 17770.8.

US Markets

US markets also ended the week mostly in positive territory.

Standard & Poor's 500

The SPX500 index initially dipped 0.7%, surged 1.11%, and settled at 5096.3.

Nasdaq

The Nasdaq (NAS100) led the pack with a 1.9% increase to 18064.25.

Dow Jones Industrial Average

The Dow Jones (USA30) surged 0.29%, then dipped 1.29%, and stabilized at 38970.

Energy Markets

Crude oil prices enjoyed a strong rally this week.

• Brent Crude (UKOIL) surged 3.81% over the last week to $83.271 a barrel.
• WTI Crude (OIL) followed suit - surging 4.68% to $79.224 a barrel.

This uptrend can be due to optimism about OPEC+ potentially extending production cuts and easing concerns about US inflation.

Natural gas (NATGAS) prices also experienced a significant surge, rising 12.19% during the week to reach $1.871/MMBtu.

Metals

Gold (XAUUSD) prices climbed 1.63% this week and settled at 2055.2559. The global economic outlook's unpredictability may be a significant reason behind this uptrend.

Conversely, silver (XAGUSD) dipped 2.69% over the last week and recovered to 22.721.

Summary

While the markets experienced fluctuations throughout the week, several key trends emerged. The strong performance of Asian equities and the rally in energy prices stood out. In contrast, the mixed performance of European and US markets reflected ongoing concerns about the global economic environment.

The upcoming OPEC+ decision on production cuts and further developments on the global economic front will likely continue to influence market movements in the coming weeks.