Gold Returns to 1960 Levels: Market Update

Market News Summary

Wall Street analysts have expressed optimism about the performance of stocks of large Chinese technology companies, despite some uneven recovery among companies and their recent profits. Baidu’s profits and revenues have exceeded analysts’ expectations, while Tencent has returned to profitability. However, Alibaba’s revenues fell below analysts’ expectations.

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy recently had a meeting with President Biden regarding the debt ceiling, but no agreement was reached. McCarthy emphasized his unwillingness to discuss increasing revenues and instead pointed to the issue lying in expenses. When asked about the possibility of a debt default, McCarthy answered negatively.

In European markets, trading on Monday, May 22, ended with contrasting results. Investors were focused on the debt ceiling talks in the US and the outcomes of the general elections in Greece. The STOXX600 index closed at 468 points, with the German DAX declining by 0.32% to reach 16,223 points. The French CAC fell by 0.18% to 7,478 points, while the British FTSE rose by 0.18% to 7,770 points.

Dollar index (USDX)

The dollar index fell 0.1% to 103.020 after retreating from last week’s high of 103.63, a level last seen on March 20.

The dollar took a hit late last week as negotiations over a potential raise to the US debt ceiling, in order to avoid a potentially devastating default, suddenly collapsed. Republicans walked out of the meeting, and as of the meeting between Biden and McCarthy on Monday, an agreement had not been reached.

Pivot Point: 103.05

Support Level	Resistance Level
102.85	103.30
102.65	103.45
102.45	103.70

Spot Gold (XAUUSD)

Gold prices fell at the close of trading on May 22, following the largest weekly losses since the beginning of February last week.

During settlement, gold futures declined by approximately 1.0%, or $20, to reach $1,960 per ounce.

Pivot Point: 1974

Support level	Resistance level
1966	1979
1960	1988
1952	1993

Dow Jones Index (DJ30ft – US30)

Chevron shares fell by 1.8% after the oil major announced its plan to acquire PDC Energy in an all-share deal worth $7.6 billion, including debt. In addition, Nike’s shares dropped by approximately 4% due to disappointing results from Foot Locker, which is considered one of Nike’s largest accounts on the platform and one of its major wholesale partners.

Pivot Point: 33412

Support level	Resistance level
33240	33555
33099	33725
32930	33865

US Crude (USOUSD)

Oil prices increased at the close of yesterday’s trading session on Monday, May 22, due to expectations of rising crude demand in the second half of this year.

Prices were also supported by a decrease in supplies from Canada and the OPEC+ alliance in recent weeks, as well as the increase in gasoline futures in the United States.

During settlement, Brent crude futures rose by 0.5% to reach $75.99 per barrel, while US crude futures increased by 0.6%, reaching $71.99 per barrel.