NFP misses, gold surges, while oil struggles

Mainland and offshore Chinese stocks rallied into the weekend despite President Trump’s decision to slap an additional 10% tariff on Chinese exports, effectively ending the ‘de minimis’ rule. This move has raised concerns for online giants like Shein, which may be forced to cut its London IPO valuation by 20%, down to $50 billion. In retaliation, China plans retaliatory tariffs, rare earth restrictions, and an antitrust probe into Google.

Despite these tensions, investors remain hopeful that upcoming talks between US President Trump and Chinese President Xi may lead to a de-escalation.

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Gold continued its upward momentum last week, reaching an all-time high of $2,880. While the daily MACD suggests that gold may be overbought, signalling a potential pullback, the metal has shown an uncanny ability to defy market logic and extend its rally.

Silver trails closely behind but faces strong resistance around the $32.50 mark.

These precious metals are worth keeping an eye on, as volatility could spark fireworks in the near future.

US Light Crude is struggling below $71 per barrel after breaking several support levels. It’s now approaching the 76.4% Fibonacci retracement of its December rally.

President Trump’s call for US producers to “drill, baby, drill” hasn’t boosted sentiment, and with China facing an economic slowdown, demand growth looks increasingly uncertain.

The big question remains—can oil find support, or is a drop to $65 looming on the horizon?

The week kicks off with updates on Chinese CPI and PPI, Japan’s Economic Watchers Sentiment, and the Eurozone’s Sentix Investor Confidence. Wednesday brings the highly anticipated US CPI release alongside Crude Oil Inventories and the US Federal Budget Balance.

The week wraps up on Friday with China’s Industrial Production and Eurozone Flash GDP, as well as US Retail Sales, Import Prices, and Industrial Production.

Monday:

• McDonald’s

• Vertex Pharmaceuticals

• Rockwell Automation

Tuesday:

• Coca-Cola

• Shopify

• BP

Wednesday:

• Taiwan Semiconductor

• Cisco Systems

• Kraft Heinz

Thursday:

• Unilever

• Applied Materials

• Sony

Friday:

• NatWest Group

• Moderna

• Paramount Global