Though the markets have had a quiet week due a large portion of the world celebrating Christmas, it appears that the stock and equity markets are about to end 2019 on a positive note.
In the United States, the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones all registered significant gains. Beijing and Japan also reported a positive performance of stocks and indices, riding on a wave of positive attitudes among investors.
The boost was inspired by the recent improvement in the trade relations of the United States and China. The two countries announced that their phase-one agreement is ready and are about to schedule a January date for its signing. Moreover, both countries cancelled some of their mutually-imposed tariffs (though only a small fraction of the total duties). This brings investors hope that the two countries might be able to resolve their differences, which will improve the global economic outlook.
Crude oil is also gaining in price due to the good news. In addition, OPEC’s recent decision to cut production volumes even lower, as well as a drop in US oil reserves, have helped boost oil prices.
Somewhat unexpectedly, gold also rose to two-month peaks at $1,510.
Today we are also seeing a more relaxed US dollar, which allowed the EUR/USD pair to climb to $1.1101.
