Stocks drop but Oil surges

Chris Beauchamp IG

While stocks continue to weaken, oil prices have surged as the final day of trading in Q1 continues to see heightened volatility, says Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at online trading platform IG.

Stock rout continues across global markets

It is proving to be a very gloomy start to the final day of Q1 trading, as Friday’s selling continues into the new week. While there has been some buying at the lows, the nearness of the 2 April tariff announcement means that even the most enthusiastic bargain hunters may opt to do nothing for the time being.

Oil surges to a five-week high

Oil prices seemed set to join in the risk-off mood today, but have made a dramatic turnaround thanks to indications of more solid US demand, and president Trump’s rhetoric about imposing sanctions on Russian oil. Of course, higher oil prices won’t help the deflation argument, and if the US does ultimately follow through with action against Iran much of the weakness in crude since the beginning of the year will be unwound.

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Chris Beauchamp

EUR/USD holds firm near 1.1850 amid USD weakness

EUR/USD remains strongly bid around 1.1850 in European trading on Monday. The USD/JPY slide-led broad US Dollar weakness helps the pair build on Friday's recovery ahead of the Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence data for February.

GBP/USD holds medium-term bullish bias above 1.3600

The GBP/USD pair trades on a softer note around 1.3605 during the early European session on Monday. Growing expectation of the Bank of England’s interest-rate cut weighs on the Pound Sterling against the Greenback.

Gold remains supported by China's buying and USD weakness as traders eye US data

Gold struggles to capitalize on its intraday move up and remains below the $5,100 mark heading into the European session amid mixed cues. Data released over the weekend showed that the People's Bank of China extended its buying spree for a 15th month in January. Moreover, dovish US Fed expectations and concerns about the central bank's independence drag the US Dollar lower for the second straight day, providing an additional boost to the non-yielding yellow metal.

Cardano steadies as whale selling caps recovery

Cardano (ADA) steadies at $0.27 at the time of writing on Monday after slipping more than 5% in the previous week. On-chain data indicate a bearish trend, with certain whales offloading ADA. However, the technical outlook suggests bearish momentum is weakening, raising the possibility of a short-term relief rebound if buying interest picks up.

Japanese PM Takaichi nabs unprecedented victory – US data eyed this week

I do not think I would be exaggerating to say that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s snap general election gamble paid off over the weekend – and then some. This secured the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) an unprecedented mandate just three months into her tenure.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple consolidate after massive sell-off

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple prices consolidated on Monday after correcting by nearly 9%, 8%, and 10% in the previous week, respectively. BTC is hovering around $70,000, while ETH and XRP are facing rejection at key levels. Traders should be cautious: despite recent stabilization, upside recovery for these top three cryptocurrencies is capped as the broader trend remains bearish.