FTSE 100 rises, GBP/USD and gold slip ahead of US CPI release
FTSE 100 rises, GBP/USD and gold drop ahead of key US CPI release which will give a clearer indication of the Fed’s September rate cut.
Overnight summary
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 closed at record highs, while the Dow Jones slipped 0.5%. The rally was fuelled by a dramatic surge in Oracle, whose shares soared 36% - their biggest one-day gain since 1992 - pushing the company’s market value to $922 billion. The optimism around Oracle’s AI prospects spilled over into chipmakers and power suppliers, adding further momentum to the broader tech sector.
Meanwhile, softer-than-expected US producer price data for August strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates next week, reinforcing bullish sentiment across equity markets.
Investor confidence also received a boost as Barclays and Deutsche Bank raised their 2025 year-end S&P 500 targets, citing resilient corporate earnings, AI-driven growth, and a supportive economic environment.
The optimism extended to Asia, where Japanese, Taiwanese, and South Korean indices hit record highs on the back of rate-cut bets and AI enthusiasm.
Attention now shifts to today’s US consumer price index release and the European Central Bank’s (ECB) rate decision, both of which could set the tone for global markets in the near term.
FTSE 100 pushes higher
The FTSE 100 tries to reach Thursday's high at 9,291 while the 5 September high at 9,253 offers support.
Were it and Thursday's low at 9,235 to be fallen through, the tentative April-to-September uptrend line at 9,198 may be revisited, together with the late July peak at 9,189.
FTSE 100 daily candlestick chart
GBP/USD is keeling over
GBP/USD has been rejected by its late July and mid-August highs at $1.3589-to-$1.3595 which acted as resistance on Tuesday.
Since then cable gave back ground with the 55-day simple moving average (SMA) at $1.3462 coming into focus with the 29 August low at $1.3446.
Were the $1.3589-to-$1.3595 resistance area to be exceeded, however, the early-to-mid-June highs at $1.3616-to-$1.3632 would be eyed next but may act as resistance as well.
GBP/USD daily candlestick chart
Gold comes off record high
The price of gold is beginning to come off its $3,674.00 per troy ounce record high with the August-to-September uptrend line at $3,612.00 being in sight.
If slipped through, the 3 September high at $3,578.00 may be revisited.
A rise above Wednesday's $3,657.00 high would probably led to this week's record high at $3,674.00 being overcome with the $3,700.00 region being eyed in this scenario.
Gold daily candlestick chart
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