Market summary today: Stocks, the dollar, and Bitcoin rise, while geopolitical tensions boost gold, bonds, oil, and gas.

A cautious atmosphere prevailed in the financial markets on Thursday, as investors' fears regarding the recent escalations in the Russian-Ukrainian war dominated market movements, while stock markets benefited from the quarterly earnings announcements of a large number of companies.

Stock Markets

U.S. Stocks

U.S. stock indices rebounded today on the back of strong corporate earnings results, despite a tight interest rate environment. However, some technology stocks in the U.S. faced noticeable losses, primarily driven by the losses of the Chinese retail company PDD listed on Wall Street, and the sharp losses of Google after the U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion in court to compel the tech firm to divest its leading browser Chrome to prevent alleged monopolistic practices.

In terms of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 1.20% to record 43,929.47 points, and the S&P 500 index increased by 0.55% to 5,949.64 points, while the Nasdaq index nullified its early session losses to settle at 18,963.22 points.

European Stocks

European stocks closed today's session with collective gains, with the Euro Stoxx 600 index closing up by 0.41% at 502.54 points. The British FTSE 100 index also closed the session with gains of 0.79% at 8,149.27 points.

Similarly, the French CAC index rose by about 0.21% to close at 7,213.32 points, and the German DAX increased by 0.74%, recording 19,146.17 points at the close. The Italian FTSE MIB saw a rise of 0.20% to register 33,294.69 points at the close, while the Spanish Ibex rose by about 0.19% to register 11,611.70 points at the close.

Asian Stocks

The situation was not as positive for Asian stocks today, as the Japanese Nikkei index declined by approximately 0.85% to close at 38,026.17 points amid losses for chip-related companies following Nvidia's weaker forecasts. The broader Japanese Topix index also closed down by 0.57% at 2,682.81 points.

The Hang Seng index for Chinese stocks in Hong Kong closed down by 0.53% at 19,601.11 points, while India's Nifty fell by about 0.75%, recording 23,349.70 points at the close.

Forex

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the U.S. currency against a basket of six major currencies, rose by 0.38% to register 107.032 points, amid gains of the dollar against most major currencies, except for the Japanese yen.

The euro fell against the dollar by 0.64% to 1.0476 dollars, and the British pound dropped by about 0.45% against the dollar to register 1.2593 dollars, while the dollar declined against the Japanese yen by 0.54% to 154.55 yen.

The dollar's gains came after better-than-expected U.S. weekly unemployment claims data and data showing a larger than expected rise in existing home sales in the United States, in addition to recent statements by Federal Reserve member Austin Goolsbee, who called for slowing the pace of U.S. interest rate cuts.

Bonds

U.S. Treasury bonds rose as expectations grew for a slower cut in U.S. interest rates and as investors turned to them as a safe haven amid increasing geopolitical tensions. The yields on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds rose about 0.66% or 29 basis points, to record 4.435%, while the yields on two-year U.S. Treasury bonds increased by 0.84% or 36 basis points, reaching 4.344%.

Key Commodities

In the commodities market, a cautious stance prevailed among investors amid increasing fears regarding potential geopolitical escalations, following the U.S. granting the Ukrainian army the green light to use and plant land mines on Russian territory, a move that the United Nations warned against and strongly opposed.

This came as news agencies reported on a potential attack by Russia on one of the U.S. bases in Poland after the Russian foreign ministry warned of the risks posed by missile launch platforms there. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that since the beginning of the war until now, they have not yet used their intercontinental missiles but affirmed that they would not hesitate to use them to defend against external threats.

This followed the U.S. decision earlier in the week to allow Ukraine to use its long-range missiles to strike Russian territory from the Ukrainian-Russian border, a response which Russia addressed with changes to its nuclear doctrine and by easing the conditions required for the use of Russian nuclear weapons.

Gold

The tensions that heightened fears of a possible escalation extending to more countries led to an increased interest from investors in gold as a safe haven, with gold prices in spot contracts rising by 0.80% to 2,671.94 dollars, continuing their gains for the fourth consecutive session.

Oil

On the other hand, oil also benefited from the recent escalations in the Russian-Ukrainian war, as fears grew that an expansion of the conflict could harm the global supply of crude oil, especially since Russia remains—despite the significant restrictions imposed on its oil trade—one of the largest global exporters of crude.

Brent crude future prices rose by 1.55% to record 72.42 dollars per barrel, the highest level for a barrel in 10 days. Similarly, West Texas Intermediate crude futures also rose by 1.67%, reaching 69.89 dollars per barrel, also the highest level recorded in 10 days.

Gas

As for gas prices, U.S. gas futures prices rose by 4.5% after paring gains from a 7.7% rise earlier in the session, with the gas price now trading at 3.328 dollars per million British thermal units, after peaking at 3.451 dollars per million British thermal units earlier in the session, especially following the unexpected decline in U.S. gas inventories last week.

Dutch gas futures also rose to their highest levels in over a year during today’s trading, reaching 48.825 euros per megawatt-hour after rising about 6.5%. British gas futures increased by about 6.7% to 122.91 pounds per million British thermal units, amid growing concerns over heating gas supply shortages to the continent with the winter season approaching.

Digital Assets

Bitcoin continued to expand its gains, recording a new record peak now at 98,500 dollars, after a weaker start in early trading today, with investor interest in the highest-value digital currency in the cryptocurrency market continuing against the backdrop of expectations of significant support the currency may receive with the upcoming presidency of Donald Trump.

Bitcoin also received additional support following the announcement by Gary Gensler, the head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, of his resignation today, stepping down from his position two months from now on January 20, coinciding with Trump taking office in the White House. Bitcoin rose by around 4.5% to register 98,508 dollars, bringing its market value to 1.95 trillion dollars.