US stocks opened lower today as investors remain cautious ahead of Nvidia's highly anticipated earnings report due tomorrow. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for August exceeded expectations, rising to 103.3 and indicating sustained optimism among consumers. Fed Chair Jerome Powell's recent speech essentially confirmed an interest rate cut in September, with market expectations now leaning towards a 25bps reduction. However, there is still a 30% chance of a larger 50bps cut being priced in. This dovish stance has pushed the dollar down to the 101 level, with the greenback trading at 100.7 at the time of writing. The 10-year US Treasury yield remained relatively stable, hovering around the 3.85% mark.
Base metals had a strong start to the week, continuing to build momentum despite concerns about the weakening confidence in the Chinese economy that affected the markets earlier. The upside was mainly driven by USD weakness and short covering by CTAs. Aluminium's upside was notable last week, and today's open above the $2,500/t level indicates that the market remains on the front foot. Meanwhile, copper, which had modest gains last week, strengthened above the $9,300/t level to $9,439.50/t. Lead and zinc followed suit to $2,124/t and $2,943/t, respectively.
Gold continued to trade close to record highs, standing at $2,517/oz, while silver remained steady at $30/oz. As recent fears of an escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah have eased, oil prices softened today, with WTI and Brent crude trading at $76.30/bbl and $80.30/bbl, respectively.
All price data is from 27.08.2024 as of 17:30
