US stocks opened higher on the day but struggled to keep momentum as markets continued to assess the hawkish rhetoric of Fed speakers in recent days. Option traders are also seen piling into bets targeting a 6.0% peak rate, up from the current rate of 4.75%. This was also reflected in the 2yr yield exceeding the 10yr yield by the biggest margin since the 1980s. US initial jobless claims rose for the first time in six weeks, but still remained historically low at 196,000, highlighting the labour market resilience following the jobs report on Friday. The dollar continued to soften, and the 10yr US Treasury yield tested the 3.58% level.
Lacklustre sentiment was seen across the metals market, with marginal upside following recent losses. Nickel shot up higher following the news, as reported by Bloomberg, that Trafigura is said to face more than half a billion dollars in losses following what it believes to be a systematic fraud against it, where metal cargo deliveries did not contain the nickel they were supposed to. Nickel jumped higher to settle at $28,142/t. Aluminium remained broadly unchanged at $2,499/t. Copper edged higher, testing resistance at $9,050/t before settling at $8,983/t. Lead and zinc closed higher at $2,126/t and $3,123/t, respectively.
Oil futures dropped slightly on concerns about China's optimism. WTI and Brent traded at $77/bl and $84/bl at the time of writing. Gold and silver struggled to support the earlier gains, as both metals settled lower at $1,873/oz and $22.22/oz, respectively.
All price data is from 09.02.2023 as of 17:30
