Gold in the spotlight

The spot gold price climbed above $2,141 per ounce, surpassing the previous record high of $2,135, and continued to rise in the following trading day.* The main driver of the rise in the king of precious metals is believed to be positive sentiment arising from news of interest rate cuts, with estimates , that the Fed could start easing monetary policy by the end of June. At the time of increasing interest rates, which are a tool of central banks to reduce inflation, the price of gold usually falls, because bond yields increase and the price of the dollar strengthens, which makes the purchase of gold more expensive for foreign investors. Another factor driving the price of the yellow metal upwards is the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Development of the value of gold on the COMEX commodity exchange in New York over the last 5 years.*

(Source: Yahoo Finance ).

Technology sector on the rise

Nasdaq index Composite , which for many investors is a mirror of the health of the technology sector and the performance of the market, reached a record value of 16,091 points on February 29, 2024 after two years. The last time it was so close to similar numbers was on November 19, 2021, when it reached a value of 16,057 points.* The main driving force behind the growth of the index value was technology companies associated with artificial intelligence, whose popularity continues to rise. The center of attention was the chip manufacturer Nvidia , whose market capitalization reached the value of 2 trillion USD. According to Reuters, Nvidia controls about 80% of the market for high-end AI chips, with the creators of ChatGPT among its biggest customers OpenAI , Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta Platforms . Other notable companies in the technology sector are Microsoft, which became the most valuable company with a market capitalization of 3.03 trillion USD, and Okta , Inc. , an American company focused on digital security, whose shares rose 22 percent after the publication of results for the fourth quarter of 2023.*

Development of the value of the Nasdaq index Composite for the last 5 years. ( Source: Yahoo Finance )*

Development of the share price of Okta , Inc. (OKTA) for the last 5 years. (Source: Yahoo Finance )*

Nikkei also reached a new record

Despite Japan's long-term stagnation and structural problems, the Nikkei 225 seems not to have stopped the Nikkei 225 from hitting its all-time high of 39,098 in late February after a 34-year high, continuing to rise in the following days . Negative interest rates in Japan and a weakened yen are an attraction for investors. The growth of the index was also contributed by the announcement of the American chip manufacturer NVIDIA about high quarterly profits, which rose by 769 percent, which, according to CNN, also had a positive effect on the development of shares of Japanese semiconductor manufacturers.*

Development of the value of the Nikkei 225 index on the Osaka Stock Exchange over the past 5 years. (Source: Yahoo Finance )*

Olivia Lacenová , chief analyst at Wonderinterest Trading Ltd.​

* Past performance is no guarantee of future results.