Marcus Today Pre-Market Podcast – Wednesday 1st February

US markets were up overnight, adding to January's rally, as signs of easing labour costs and cooling inflation helped boost the market. US treasury yields and the dollar index declined. Exxon and GM up 2.2% and 8.35% after positive earnings releases, while McDonald’s and Caterpillar were down 1.39% and 3.52% on their results.

The Dow Jones closed up 369 points (+1.09%). At best it was up 378, and at worst it was down 52. The S&P 500 was up 1.46%, and the NASDAQ was up 1.67%. In Europe, STOXX 50 gained 0.15% FTSE -0.17% CAC +0.005% DAX -0.2%. SPI Futures are up 44 points (+0.59%).

Copper rose 0.20% overnight following a fluctuation in prices that reached seven-month highs before falling due to the Fed's hawkish tone, which strengthened the dollar making industrial products more expensive for buyers using other currencies. Base metals showed mixed results, with Aluminum and Nickel up 1.74% and 3.07%, while Zinc, Lead, and Tin fell 1.11%, 0.14%, and 0.62%. Gold gained 0.30%, marking its third consecutive monthly increase, backed by a weak dollar and expectations around slower rate hikes from the Fed. WTI rose 1.26% while Brent fell 0.61%, despite recent data indicating a sharp rebound in Chinese manufacturing and services activity in January. Bitcoin up 1.97% to $23k, up 39.1% for the month.

Catch up on the latest news with Henry Jennings’ Pre-Market Podcast.

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