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Markets Update: Euro steadies following the German election results. The U.S. implements new restrictions on Chinese investments in the technology sector. Market anticipation grows ahead of Nvidia's upcoming earnings report. Gold retreats from recent highs.
Global Markets Roundup: 25 Feb 2025
Equity Markets
U.S. stock indices diverged from stable global equity markets overnight, with Treasury yields dropping to 2.5-month lows due to signs of slowing U.S. growth and uncertainty over Trump administration policies. Concurrently, Germany's election results bolstered the euro.
Anticipation surrounding Nvidia's forthcoming fourth-quarter earnings report, set for release after the market close on Wednesday, contributed to market apprehension. Investors are also focusing on the upcoming release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, which the Federal Reserve monitors for inflation control.
U.S. President Donald Trump's directive to restrict Chinese investments in key U.S. sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and aerospace caused temporary market jitters.
A weak U.S. consumer confidence reading exacerbated the negative sentiment, with the S&P 500 down 0.73% and the 10-year Treasury yield falling below 4.30%, marking its lowest point since December 12. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 0.15%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 1.43%. Conversely, European equities, represented by the STOXX 600, rose by 0.9%.
Tensions between the U.S. and Europe have increased over the Ukraine conflict and efforts to negotiate a ceasefire with Russia, three years after the full-scale invasion began. Recent U.S. economic data has shown negative surprises, including rising consumer inflation expectations and a decline in overall business activity.
The emergence of China's low-cost AI model from DeepSeek in late January has led investors to question the substantial investments in this technology, with significant expectations placed on Nvidia's forthcoming earnings.
Having driven stocks to record highs on both sides of the Atlantic this month, investors are now cautious about Nvidia's results, which are seen as a barometer for the artificial intelligence investment boom and could influence market sentiment for the remainder of the quarter.
Currencies
In the foreign exchange market, the dollar index DXY, which assesses the greenback against a basket of currencies dominated by the euro and yen, decreased by approximately 0.5%. The euro EURUSD increased by 0.45% to $1.0513, nearing the one-month high achieved on Monday following Friedrich Merz's election victory in Germany.
Year-to-date, the euro has appreciated by around 1%, yet remains one of the weakest major currencies against the dollar due to its vulnerability to tariff risks. The CBOE's VIX volatility index reached a one-month high on Tuesday, although it has not yet surpassed the peak from late January. Bitcoin (BTCUSD) experienced profit-taking, declining by over 7% to below $87,000 as traders continued to react to last week's $1.5 billion ether hack from the Bybit cryptoexchange.
Commodities
In the commodities market, Brent crude futures decreased by 1.7% to $73.54 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures dropped by 1.77% to $69.46. Gold prices also experienced a decline of 0.8%, closing at $2,930 per ounce after reaching a record high of $2,956.15 on Monday.
In the agricultural commodities market,
In the agricultural commodities market, the most active corn contract on the CBOT decreased by 0.45 % to $4.94-3/4 per bushel. Similarly, CBOT wheat declined by 0.84%, closing at $5.88-1/2 per bushel, while CBOT soybeans saw a marginal decrease of 0.02% to $10.47-1/4 per bushel.
Looking forward refer to the economic calendar below to see the upcoming events scheduled for today and the rest of the week.
General news - Information source from multiple newswires.
The article and the data is for general information use only, not advice!
The Trade Academy Team