Sign in
Chinese demand pushes gold to record highs: China extended its lead over India as the world’s biggest buyer of gold bars, coins, and jewelry — Chinese demand for gold jewelry rose 10% over the past year, while Indian demand fell 6%. Demand from China pushed the precious metal to a record-breaking USD 2.4k an ounce this year, Bloomberg reports.
China’s demand for gold stands to grow even further as a weakening local currency and ongoing property crisis pushes investors towards the metal, Hong Kong-based consultant Precious Metals Insights Managing Director Philip Klapwijk told Bloomberg. “The weight of money available under these circumstances for an asset like gold — and actually for new buyers to come in — is pretty considerable … There isn’t much alternative in China. With exchange controls and capital controls, you can’t just look at other markets to put your money into,” he added.
THE MARKETS THIS MORNING-
Asian markets are rebounding from Friday’s sell-off, with the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng leading the gainers, up nearly 2.3% in early trading. That’s raising hope that positive sentiment (or perhaps a bit of wishful thinking?) could see the Nasdaq (down 5.5% last week) and S&P (down >3% last week) snap their six-day losing streaks.
In context: The two big US benchmarks were dragged down last week by a tech selloff.
What to watch for this week: 1Q 2024 results announcements from Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft.
Right now: US and European equities futures were up slightly in overnight trading.
|
ADX |
9,126 |
-0.6% (YTD: -4.7%) |
|
|
DFM |
4,175 |
-0.8% (YTD: +2.8%) |
|
|
Nasdaq Dubai UAE20 |
3,620 |
-1.4% (YTD: -5.8%) |
|
|
USD : AED CBUAE |
Buy 3.67 |
Sell 3.67 |
|
|
EIBOR |
5.0% o/n |
5.4% 1 yr |
|
|
TASI |
12,518 |
+0.1% (YTD: +4.6%) |
|
|
EGX30 |
28,623 |
+1.0% (YTD: +15.0%) |
|
|
S&P 500 |
4,967 |
-0.9% (YTD: +4.1%) |
|
|
FTSE 100 |
7,896 |
+0.2% (YTD: +3.6%) |
|
|
Euro Stoxx 50 |
4,918 |
-0.4% (YTD: +8.8%) |
|
|
Brent crude |
USD 87.00 |
-0.3% |
|
|
Natural gas (Nymex) |
USD 1.75 |
-0.1% |
|
|
Gold |
USD 2,401.50 |
-0.5% |
|
|
BTC |
USD 64,628.50 |
-0.1% (YTD: +53.3%) |
THE CLOSING BELL-
The DFM fell 0.8% yesterday on turnover of AED 310.6 mn. The index is up 2.8% YTD.
In the green: Al Salam Sudan (+5.7%), du (Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company) (+2.0%) and Ekttitab Holding Company (+1.7%).
In the red: Dubai Islamic Ins. and Reins. (-8.2%), Dubai Refreshment Company (-7.7%) and Watania International Holding (-3.1%).
Over on the ADX, the index closed down 0.6% on turnover of AED 1.2 bn. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai fell 1.4%.
CORPORATE ACTIONS-
Invictus Investment, Ghitha’s trading arm, is paying out AED 45 mn in dividends for 2023, equivalent to 16% of the company’s capital, according to an ADX disclosure (pdf).
