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MORNING BID COPPER EDGES PAST SILVER TO TAKE GOLD
After a banner year for precious metals, industrial metals are in focus today as the prospect of more stimulus from China pushes Shanghai copper futures to a record high.
As the U.S. dollar =USD falls to a two-month low after this week's Fed rate cut and policy stance pushed back against the market's hawkish outlook, investors are turning to real assets to protect their purchasing power.
So-called dollar debasement trades had already lifted silver, which edged down 0.3% on Friday after hitting a fresh record of $64.31 the day earlier, while gold drew back from a seven-week high.
Stock markets in Asia posted gains even though AI bubble jitters undermined tech shares. Strength on Wall Street helped lift the MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan Index 0.8%, while the Topix .TPX surged 1.5% to a record high, led by a 6.7% gain for Sumitomo Metal Mining 5713.T.
The tech sector was rattled by a 13% decline in Oracle ORCL.N after weaker-than-expected revenue growth forecasts from the OpenAI cloud-computing partner.
Investors took some heart after Broadcom AVGO.O projected better-than-expected revenue. But the relief was brief as shares tumbled 5% in after-hours trading after the company said it expected a dip in quarterly margins. Nasdaq futures NQcv1 slipped slightly, while S&P 500 e-mini futures EScv1 were flat.
Oil prices also found their footing, but the drivers were geopolitical rather than demand-centred. Brent futures LCOc1 rose 0.7% to $61.70 as renewed threats from U.S. President Trump of strikes on drug routes between the U.S. and Venezuela on land raised supply fears, as several sources told Reuters that the U.S. is preparing to intercept more tankers.
In early European trade, pan-region futures STXEc1, German DAX futures FDXc1 and FTSE futures FFIc1 were all up 0.4% apiece.
Key developments that could influence markets on Friday:
Economic data:
Germany: CPI and HICP for November
France: CPI for November
Debt auctions:
U.K. 1-month, 3-month and 6-month government debt
(Gregor Stuart Hunter)
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