The Fed

Key events: USA - Thanksgiving Day Wednesday witnessed a rise in Wall Street's primary indices, fueled by optimism that the Federal Reserve had concluded its cycle of interest rate hikes. Despite this positive sentiment, escalating Treasury yields and lackluster earnings reports tempered the overall market gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4%, the S&P 500 rose 0.6%, and the NASDAQ Composite added 1.1%.

Key events: Eurozone - ECB President Lagarde Speaks Eurozone - ECB's Schnabel Speaks On Friday, Wall Street experienced a volatile session that ultimately led to a lower close, marking the end of a turbulent week. This week saw benchmark Treasury yields reaching their highest levels in 16 years, while investors were grappling with the Federal Reserve's more hawkish outlook revisions.

Key events: USA - Initial Jobless Claims USA - Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index (Jul) USA - Existing Home Sales (Jun) During Wednesday's evening trading, Dow futures were showing a decline after major benchmark averages reached new 15-month highs earlier in the day. Traders were closely examining the quarterly earnings results from significant companies that were reported throughout the session. The market was in a phase of digesting this corporate financial data to gauge its impact on future trends.

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Key events:         China – Industrial Production (YoY) (Feb) UK – Spring Statement      USA – Core Retail Sales (MoM) (Feb) USA – PPI (MoM) (Feb)   USA – Retail Sales (MoM) (Feb) USA – Crude Oil Inventories   New Zealand – GDP (QoQ) (Q4) The U.S. consumer inflation report was the most important statistical release of the week. According to data released on March 14 by the U.S. Department of Labor:

Key events:         UK – Construction PMI (Feb) Canada – Ivey PMI (Feb) Despite the Fed's best efforts, the labor market remains overheated as initial jobless claims fell by 2,000 (n/a) to 190,000 and U.S. service sector business activity remains elevated. In the context of fighting inflation, this threatens to lead to a tightening of monetary policy and, consequently, a worsening of economic conditions.

Key events:         UK – Composite PMI (Feb) UK – Services PMI (Feb) USA – ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI (Feb) The U.S. stock market ended February uncertain, leaving investors questioning whether the rally seen earlier this year will continue. After a strong January, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.2% in February. For the rest of the year, the blue-chip index shows a decline of 1.5%.

Key events:        

Key events:      

Key events:       USA – Core Durable Goods Orders (MoM) (Dec) USA – GDP (QoQ) (Q4)    USA – Initial Jobless Claims   USA – New Home Sales (Dec)    Although the U.S. PMI fell further in January, inflation did accelerate. It is still unclear whether the Fed should take a more dovish or hawkish stance – and that cannot help but affect gold.