US stocks opened higher today. MBA Mortgage Applications, a weekly measure of nationwide home loan requests, fell by 0.2% for the week ending July 5th. The prolonged period of high interest rates continues to deter potential homebuyers as the US economy shows signs of softening, leading investors to increase their bets on the first Fed interest rate cuts in September. Forward swaps are currently pricing in almost an 80% chance of a cut in September. The dollar index increased slightly, trading just above 105.0, while the 10-year US Treasury yield remained mostly unchanged at 4.3%.
Mixed performance was observed in the base metals market, with individual metals exhibiting unique trends that seem to diverge from the copper narrative. Aluminium was below the $2,500/t mark, at $2,483.50/t, as copper remained broadly unchanged at $9,905/t. Lead was also capped by a robust resistance level, prompting prices to close below $2,200/t at $2,179.50/t. Nickel, on the other hand, weakened today, breaking a robust support level of $17,000/t, which we believe is below its fundamental fair value. The next level of support stands at $16,530/t.
Gold increased today, trading at $2,378/oz, while silver edged higher to $30.95/oz. Oil recovered yesterday’s losses, with WTI and Brent crude at $82.4/bbl and $85.4/bbl, respectively.
All price data is from 10.07.2024 as of 17:30