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Markets Update: DAX increases, Euro reaches one-month peak as Merz secures German election. Germany anticipated to form a centrist grand coalition. Wall Street futures rise ahead of Nvidia earnings report.
Global Markets Roundup: 24 Feb 2025
Equity Markets
Social Democrats, even though it slumped to third behind the far-right Alternative for Germany. The euro and German stocks saw an uptick on Monday as markets reacted positively to Germany’s election results, indicating a probable coalition between centrist parties despite the anticipated complexities in economic policy negotiations.
European shares experienced a slight increase, and Wall Street futures also showed a modest uptick following a significant U.S. market downturn on Friday.
Friedrich Merz is poised to become the next chancellor of Germany after the opposition conservatives emerged victorious in the national election on Sunday. This outcome suggests a feasible grand coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats, despite their drop to third place behind the far-right Alternative for Germany.
Meanwhile, Germany's DAX index increased by 0.73% in early trading, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index rising by 0.19%, despite a decline in technology stocks. German coalition discussions commence as EU leaders prepare for an extraordinary summit on March 6 to deliberate on additional support for Ukraine and European defence funding. This week marks three years since the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both gained 0.6% following a challenging week for the Nasdaq, which experienced a 2.5% decline, its worst in three months, driven by losses among top tech firms. Wall Street was impacted on Friday by a surprising decline in services activity, reflecting concerns over tariffs and cost pressures.
This adds pressure on Nvidia's upcoming results on Wednesday, where investors anticipate fourth-quarter sales around $38.5 billion and first-quarter guidance of approximately $42.5 billion. The Federal Reserve's preferred core inflation measure, due on Friday, is expected to show a deceleration to 2.6% from 2.8%, though tariff concerns may overshadow this data.
Currencies
In the foreign exchange market, the dollar index DXY, which measures the currency against six major peers, was marginally lower at 106.48. The euro EURUSD briefly reached a one-month high of $1.0528 before slipping to $1.0481, up 0.22%. The U.S. dollar appreciated by 0.17% versus the yen (USDJPY), trading at 149.54 after last week's decline due to anticipated rate hikes from the Bank of Japan.
Commodities
In the commodities market, gold maintained strong support at $2,946 per ounce, marking its eighth consecutive week of gains. Conversely, oil prices have been trending downward, partly due to speculation that a potential peace agreement in Ukraine could lead to eased sanctions on Russia, thereby increasing its oil exports. Brent crude remained stable at $74.37 per barrel, continuing to hover around its lowest level since late December.
In the agricultural commodities market, the most actively traded corn contract on the CBOT declined by 0.5% to $5.02-1/2 per bushel, after reaching $5.14 on Friday, the highest level since August 2023. Additionally, CBOT wheat fell by 1% to $5.97-3/4 per bushel, while soybeans experienced a minor decrease of 0.1%, settling at $10.55-3/4 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