US stocks wavered on Monday as investors assessed the outlook for corporate earnings this week as well as the Fed meeting on Wednesday. More than half of the S&P 500 companies are having their corporate earnings results released this week and should help solidify the performance for Q2 2022. US GDP data on Friday should show whether the US has entered a technical recession. In the meantime, markets are betting on at least a 75bps hike this week from the Fed, which is likely to further dampen the economic growth prospects. The dollar edged slightly lower, and the 10yr US Treasury yield settled at 2.80% in the meantime. Elsewhere, German business confidence fell to the lowest level since the early days of the pandemic, with many fearing that the economy is on the brink of recession.
The markets once again braced themselves for the Fed meeting this week and its implication on the global economic environment. Moves on the LME exchange were limited today, only with copper edging higher to close at $7,479/t. Aluminium continued to edge lower after testing the resistance level at $2,480/t, the level it struggled to break in the last couple of weeks; the metal closed at $2,408.50/t. Nickel was range-bound as it remained unchanged day on the day at $22,228/t. Both lead and zinc saw marginal declines to close at $2,004/t and $2,985.50/t, respectively.
A weaker dollar benefitted the oil futures, as both WTI and Brent edged higher to $96/bl and $105/bl. Gold and silver gained footing in the first half of the day before offsetting the gains by falling to $1,716/oz and $18.43/oz, respectively.
All price data is from 25.07.2022 as of 17:30
