STOCKS

Wall Street stocks edged lower at the start of a shortened trading week as the market was cooling after last week’s rally which sent the indexes to record highs. As sentiment has improved marginally, US equities finished mostly higher in a mixed session on Thursday. The S&P 500 had its best first quarter since 2019 and also marked its best first-quarter performance in three years. The index added 0.1% to hit a fresh all-time high, gaining more than 10% in the first quarter. The Dow Jones also ticked up 0.1% and likewise set a record. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.1%. US stock and bond markets will be closed Friday. On the data front, the US economy grew at a solid 3.4% annual pace in the fourth quarter to exceed the previous estimate of 3.2%. In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% as Japanese stocks rebounded from yesterday’s drop, while Chinese telecommunications company Huawei said its net profit for 2023 more than doubled thanks to better product offerings. Net profit grew by 114.5% year-on-year to 87 billion yuan. The company’s shares rallied more than 3.5% after he report.

CURRENCIES

The US dollar has been retaining bullish bias for the fourth session in a row on Friday, clinging to the upper end of a local trading range. Yesterday, the USD index briefly saw fresh mid-February highs around 104.73 before retreating marginally. Ahead of the weekend, demand for the greenback persists, with prices holding above the 104.50 zone in anticipation of a fresh bullish catalyst. Next, traders will focus on US PCE data that will set the tone for the USD pairs ahead of the weekend. The greenback was lifted by the recent deterioration in risk sentiment along with relatively hawkish comments from Fed’s Waller, who warned the central bank may need to hold current rate for longer than expected. The USD also derives support from a weaker euro amid rather weak economic data out of the Eurozone, with rising the ECB rate cut expectations adding to a cautious tone surrounding the euro. In European trading on Friday, the shared currency has settled around five-week lows, trading below the 1.0800 figure that now represents the immediate upside target.

OIL

After some hesitation at the start of the week, oil prices resumed the ascent on Thursday, retaining a solid bullish bias ahead of the weekend. Brent crude briefly dipped to local lows around $85.17 earlier in the week before attracting renewed demand. As a result, the futures have bounced strongly, holding around the $87 figure on Friday. Earlier, crude oil prices as US crude stockpiles rose. According to the EIA, commercial crude stockpiles rose by 3.2 million barrels for the week ending March 22, compared to an expected decline of 1.3 million barrels. Gasoline inventories rose by 1.3 million barrels. Domestic crude production was unchanged at 13.1 million barrels per day. Brent crude was also hurt by indications that the OPEC is unlikely to change its output policy at its technical meeting next week. As a reminder, earlier this month, the alliance agreed to extend output cuts of about 2.2 million barrels per day to the end of June. Still, Brent managed to make a decisive break above the $86 figure, with upside risks persisting at this stage.

GOLD

Gold prices rallied to fresh all-time highs above $2,250 earlier on Friday, rallying for the fourth day in a row. The bullion peaked at $2,256 before retreating marginally from fresh tops amid some profit-taking. The XAUUSD pair stays resilient ahead of the weekend, with prices clinging to the upper end of the extended trading range. The downside potential looks limited at this stage, however, investors may take some profit more aggressively after the latest spike. On the weekly timeframes, the technical picture stays positive, with wider picture remaining upbeat after reaching fresh all-time highs. On the upside, the immediate significant target is now represented by the $2,260 zone, followed by $2,275. Downside risks are limited while above the $2,200 region. Should dollar demand intensify in the near term, XAUUSD may lose some ground to retreat from historical tops. A failure to hold above the $2,250 zone would pave the way towards the $2,220 immediate support on the way towards $2,200.

CRYPTO

The bitcoin price holds slightly negative on Friday, oscillating around the $70,000 psychological figure after a retreat from all-time highs seen in the $73,700 area earlier this month. On the weekly charts, the BTCUSD pair looks set to finish with solid gains after two weeks of losses in a row. As such, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization shows recovery from a partial pullback from the mentioned all-time highs seen amid the growing inflows in the Bitcoin Spot ETFs. Bitcoin looks relatively resilient in anticipation of the halving event, with market sentiments towards the coin turning more bullish again. In the near term, the digital currency needs to settle above the $71,000 figure in order to retarget the mentioned all-time tops. On the downside, the nearest support now arrives in the $69,000 region. A failure to hold above this zone would pave the way to a deeper retreat below the $64,000 figure. However, the downside potential looks limited at this stage, with the overall bullish trend persisting.