European Daily Market Review

European markets gained some side today after registering a rising mode in February.

The German DAX soared 83.48 or 0.47% from 17,761. The French CAC-40 fell 3.96 or 0.05% from 7,923.

FTSE-100 gained 47.89 or 0.63% from 7,677.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 inclined 0.3% by mid-morning, with adding 1.2%.

Flash euro zone inflation reading demonstrated the headline consumer price index retreating around 2.6% from January’s 2.8%.

Stock prices of Daimler Truck jumped to fresh all-time high Friday, after adding more than 13.5% in early deals.

As a matter of fact, the company registered record full-year profit and declaring a 2 billion euro ($2.16 billion) share buyback program.

U.K.  house prices have rallied on an annual basis for the first time in a year, as reported by the Nationwide.

The UK’s largest building society said declared price gains of around 1.2% in February versus last year.

Gold Is Closing In On An All-time High

Gold finished at a four week high on Friday, supported by data that shows inflation is falling, and some rumblings over potential bank failures. Also providing support recently is a weaker U.S. dollar, which is falling on expectations for lower interest rates in the U.S. by mid-year. Friday capped off a second straight week of gains for gold, increasing the case for a bull market rally.

Gold traders are also seeing a positive short-term technical picture for the precious metal. Recent action has seen a three-month long downtrend negated. The next level of resistance, which is considered quite strong, is at the $2,100 level. That’s just over $7 away from Friday’s close at $2,092.80 an ounce. Friday also saw gold hit a one-year high on an intraday basis, trading above the $2,095.80 level seen at the close of 2023.

Gold reached an all-time high of $2,135.39 an ounce in December 2023 and sits roughly 2% below that level now. If gold can top the $2,100  level it is possible we could see a test of that all-time high as early as next week, particularly if we continue to see a decline in the U.S. dollar.

Data out of the U.S. showed a weak manufacturing sector and a weak consumer survey from the University of Michigan. Add that to Thursday’s report on consumer inflation, which showed the slowest uptick in three years, and things seem to be adding up to a good year ahead for gold.

The real catalyst for a strong rally would be a Fed rate cut in the U.S. While hopes for such a cut in June are increasing, economic data and messaging from the Fed is till muddled enough to keep traders guessing.

Disney In Bull Mode Since Earnings Release

Disney Daily Chart

Shares of Walt Disney have been on a tear since announcing Street beating revenue and earnings earlier this month. After a short pullback on profit taking recently the stock was back on the move higher Tuesday, rising by 1.6% to lead the Dow Industrials in a lackluster day on Wall Street.

The catalyst for the Tuesday gains was an investor’s note from analyst Ivan Feinseth of Tigress Financial. In the note he placed a $136 price target on the stock, representing a potential upside of roughly 25% from Tuesday’s closing level. That’s on top of the 21.1% that the stock has already gained in 2024.

There are a number of reasons for the optimism from Feinseth. First of course is the latest earnings report, which was better than expected by Wall Street. Revenue, earnings, and free cash flow were all up, however the stock is still trading at pre-pandemic levels.

Disney has been actively working to revitalize growth in its entertainment business, and that work looks as if it may be paying off. Every one of Disney’s theme parks was profitable in the last quarter, giving Disney, in the words of CEO Bob Iger, “an incredibly solid foundation to build upon.”

Disney has also been under pressure from activist investors to improve its performance, and to fully embrace AI in its entertainment division, both in its movies and at its theme parks. The activists have also suggested Disney spin off its hotel and parks business into a REIT to maximize profits.

While losses continue for Disney’s streaming video service, they were far smaller in this past quarter versus the year-ago period. That shows a significant improvement and another sign that the work Disney is doing is beginning to pay off.

Asian Daily Market Review

Asian markets ended Tuesday mixed after a losing overnight session on Wall Street. Investor focus is on later this week, when the U.S. will release inflation data that could inform investors of potential interest rate moves. The US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index is the Fed’s favored inflation gauge and could give clues to the first rate cut in the U.S. Also coming up Friday is the latest Chinese manufacturing data, which could help improve investor sentiment if it shows the Chinese economy beginning a recovery.

Japan’s Nikkei barely hung in record territory, ending the session just slightly higher by less than 0.1%. January data showed inflation falling for a third consecutive month, sparking speculation that the Bank of Japan could begin raising rates as early as March. Shares of Softbank Group rose by 2.4%, while Sony retreated by 0.8%. Among the major exporters Toyota gained 0.5%, while Panasonic and Canon both finished 1.8% higher.

In Australia the S&P/ASX 200 edged higher by 0.1%, helped by strength from the big four banks. Shares of ANZ and NAB were 0.5% higher each, Commonwealth Bank added 1%, and Westpac advanced by 0.8%. The major miners showed more modest gains, with BHP up by 0.2% and Rio Tinto tacking on 0.5%.

Mainland Chinese markets outperformed the region as the benchmark Shanghai Composite gained 1.3% and the smaller cap Shenzhen Composite rallied 2.2% higher. Over in Hong Kong the Hang Seng took its lead from the mainland and advanced by 0.9%.

In South Korea the Kospi underperformed the region, losing 0.8% for the day, and in Taiwan the Taiex retreated by 0.5%.

Southeast Asian markets were mixed, with Malaysia’s KLCI up by 0.7% and Singapore’s Straits Times Index down by 0.4%.

U.S. Daily Market Review

The main U.S. stocks are without a clear market direction as the market rally took another breather.

The S&P-500 slipped 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 140 points, or 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.1%.

Macy’s stock prices jumped more than 5% after announcing it would close around 150 of its trouble store locations.

Home prices rallied for the 11th consecutive month in December, as housing inventory remained very low.Prices soared 5.5% on a national basis in December when compared with the previous year.

Food price inflation sunk in February to its weakest mark of the last two years.

Food prices in February surged 5% versus last year, but that marked a loss from January’s 6.1%, and the lowest level since May 2022, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

Consumer confidence dropped in February as worries jumped over a potential labor market slowdown.

AutoZone declared earnings of $28.89 per share on revenue of $3.85 billion.Its share prices popped 3%.

European Daily Market Review

European markets are without a solid position today.

The German DAX inclined 81.40 or 0.47% from 17,504.FTSE-100 soared 4.30 or 0.06% from 7688.

The French CAC-40 surged 1.23 or 0.02% from 7,931.

The Stoxx 600 is without a solid direction at 9:20 a.m.Investment firm and asset manager Abrdn jumped 4.3% after declaring a loss of 5% in operating profit that nonetheless came over forecasts.

Shares of Scotland’s Abrdn inclined 4.8% at 9 a.m. in London, after the investment firm reported a 5% loss in adjusted operating profit to £249 million ($315.9 million).

Russia carried out a ban for six-months on gasoline exports from March 1 to keep prices stable amid growing domestic demand.

The ban, first reported by Russia’s RBC, was confirmed by a spokeswoman for Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.