Gold Prices Rally
EU Markets Lower
Facebook Skyrockets on Ads
1. Gold Continues to Rally Amid Geopolitical Worries
Gold continues to edge higher on Tuesday amid rising political tensions over North Korea and the Middle East which buoyed safe-haven demand, according to CNBC. Heightened tensions in the Korean peninsula and Middle East following U.S. strikes on Syria, along with the upcoming French presidential election, forced investors to remain largely on the sidelines and choose to invest in safe-haven assets. Indicatively, Gold futures were last seen trading 0.4 percent higher at 1285.55, as of 6:45 according to investing.com
It is worth noting that gold prices were also supported by a weaker dollar, which plummeted after Federal Reserve Chair, Janet Yellen made some rather dovish comments about future monetary policy. Yellen stated that the U.S. economy is “pretty healthy” and the Federal Reserve is close to its twin goals, suggesting that there are no imminent rate hikes in the Federal Reserve’s agenda. Yellen also noted that raising rates too fast could trigger another recession. The USD was last seen trading 0.3 percent lower against the Japanese Yen at 110.59JPY as of 6:45 GMT.
2. European Markets Open Lower ahead of French Elections
European bourses slided on Tuesday morning amid increased geopolitical risks in the Middle East and Korean Peninsula and existing uncertainty over the upcoming French election, according to Bloomberg. Investors will also be focusing on the U.K.’s release of consumer price inflation and producer price index data, due to be released at around 8.30 GMT. Eurozone industrial production and German ZEW economic sentiment will also impact the markets upon release at 9:00 GMT. Current consensus is that we are in for a strong ZEW Economic Sentiment Index reading which can be push the EUR higher according to investing.com!
3. Facebook Boasts Over 5 Million Advertisers Per Month
Facebook (FB) continues to prove extremely popular amongst advertisers, with the number of businesses placing ads on its platforms now exceeding 5 million per month, according to Stock News. That’s up from 4 million in September and establishes Facebook as a strong opponent against Alphabet Inc’s Google (GOOGL.O) for dominance in digital advertising. The two Silicon Valley giants are expected to soak up some 46 percent of online ad spending in 2018, according to research released by eMarketer. Facebook stocks closed higher on the news at 141.04USD.
The Week Ahead…
View all the major upcoming economic releases & events:
