Morning Summary 12-18-2023

Indexes

The indices in the Asia-Pacific region traded lower at the beginning of the new week. The Nikkei fell by 0.7%, the S&P/ASX 200 decreased by 0.2%, the Nifty 50 remained stagnant, and the Kospi strengthened by 0.1%. Chinese indices traded 0.4-1.0% lower.

War

South Korea condemned the ballistic missile launched by North Korea over the weekend.

Interest Rates

Reuters reported on Friday that the ECB does not expect a dovish pivot before March 2024, and any rate cut before June would be challenging.

Goolsbee mentioned that it is still too early to declare victory for a soft landing, citing warning signs such as credit card debt and rising delinquencies in auto lending.

Crypto

Cryptocurrency prices are declining – Bitcoin is down by 1.2%, Ethereum by 1.8%, and Dogecoin by 1.4%.

Precious Metals

Precious metals benefit from the weakening USD – gold trades 0.3% higher, silver and platinum rise by 0.7%, and palladium increases by 1%.

Currencies

AUD and NZD are the top-performing major currencies, while JPY and USD lag behind.

Commodities

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Novak stated that Russia will significantly reduce oil production beyond the 300k bpd set for this year, suggesting a potential reduction of up to 50k bpd.

Energy commodities are trading higher – oil strengthens by 0.5%, while the price of U.S. natural gas rises by 2.5%.

Brent OIL Chart

Source: TradingView Created by TR4G

Brent (OIL) continues its recovery movement after an unsuccessful attempt to break below the $72.50 support zone. The price is trading over 6% above last week's lows, and bulls are attempting to break above the $77 resistance.

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