【TOP1 Evening】Gold and Pound gains, Oil rises on U.S. inventory draw

Gold 

Gold prices edged up on Thursday as the dollar eased and investors bet on further U.S. stimulus though President Donald Trump threatened to veto a long-awaited pandemic relief bill.

Spot gold rose 0.32% to $1878.29 per ounce by 18:00 (GMT+8).

"Gold prices are riding a near-term bull trend, propelled by a weaker dollar and a new strain of coronavirus that could derail the (economic) recovery, hinting at further stimulus ahead," said Margaret Yang, a strategist at DailyFX.

News that Britain and the European Union were on the cusp of striking a narrow trade deal lifted the euro and British pound, pushing the dollar down.

"The overnight rally leaves gold parked in the middle of its one-week range, lacking the drivers and momentum to attempt a directional move either way," Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA, said in a note.

Gold's next move will depend on whether the fiscal stimulus situation in the United States is resolved over the next week, he added.

Rising risks from the new virus variant and surging U.S. infections have kept investors optimistic about the U.S. stimulus bill despite Trump's threat to veto the $900 billion relief package.

By 18:00 (GMT+8), silver rose 1.03% to $25.788 per ounce; bitcoin rose 0.03% to $23296.0.

Forex

The U.S. dollar fell on Thursday. The U.S. dollar index fell 0.45% to 90.18 by 18:00(GMT+8).

With the global economy recovering next year, the U.S. dollar will face more downward pressure as investors opt for riskier assets and the Federal Reserve keeps rates near zero.

The main drivers behind the dollar's bear market are massive money printing, inflation, economic recovery, risk-on sentiment, and loose monetary policy.

At 18:00(GMT+8), the EUR/USD rose 0.07% to 1.21942; the GBP/USD was up 0.72% to 1.35835; the AUD/USD rose 0.31% to 0.75948; theUSD/JPY rose 0.07% to 103.605.

While there has been no official confirmation from either side that the months of negotiations had reached a conclusion, a senior British government source said Prime Minister Boris Johnson was poised to do a trade deal with the E.U., after media reports said the agreement had already been done.

"This time, it really does appear that a deal will be struck just in time for Christmas," Westpac macro strategist Tim Riddell wrote in a client note dated Dec. 24.

"If a deal does transpire on Dec. 24, GBP is likely to make further gains" toward $1.40, "but the potential for a more substantial move towards 1.4500 now seems unlikely given how positions exhaustion is so prevalent."

Crude Oil

Oil extended gains on Thursday as a drawdown in U.S. stockpiles of crude and gasoline lifted demand hopes, while investors also cheered a potential Brexit trade deal.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $48.046 barrel, fell 0.01%, Brent was down to $51.103 a barrel, fell 0.08% by 18:00(GMT+8).

U.S. crude inventories fell by 562,000 barrels in the week to Dec. 18 to 499.5 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Oil prices also drew support from news that Britain and the European Union were on the cusp of striking a narrow trade deal on Thursday, swerving away from a chaotic finale to the Brexit split.

Still, investors remain jittery about the recovery of oil demand as a more contagious variant of the coronavirus that is quickly spreading across Britain prompts countries to shut their borders to the U.K.

Americans were also warned again not to travel for Christmas as the latest surge in cases overwhelmed hospitals.

Stocks

Stocks in Asia-Pacific closed higher in Thursday trade.

Nikkei 225 rose 143.56 points or 0.54%, close at 26,668.35.

S&P/ASX 200 rose 21.70 points or 0.33% to close at 6,664.80.

Hang Seng Index rose 43.46 or 0.16% to 26,386.56.

South Korea's Kospi rose 47.04 points or 1.70% to 2,806.86.

Taiwan capitalization-weighted stock index rose 57.19 points, or 0.40%, at 14,280.28. 

South Korean shares hit a record high on Thursday, leading gains for most emerging Asian stock markets in holiday-thinned trading after the country secured deals to import COVID-19 vaccines.

The deals with Pfizer Inc and Johnson & Johnson's Janssen fuelled a nearly 2% rise in Seoul's KOSPI, adding an eighth straight week of gains, while the won firmed half a percent.

Qualcomm shares are getting a boost Wednesday from Baird analyst Tristan Gerra, who picked up coverage of the mobile-phone chip company with an Outperform rating and a Street-high $200 price target. 

The bottom line is that Gerra sees Qualcomm as the most obvious bet on the expansion of 5G wireless networks and devices in 2021 and beyond.

"Qualcomm is at the center of the unfolding 5G secular cycle, eventually expanding from smartphones to many end markets," including automotive applications and the internet of things Gerra said.

Analyst Tristan Gerra says Huawei's "dynamics" will benefit QCOM's market share in China in 2021.

In the long-term view, Gerra thinks Qualcomm will leverage its tech for A.I. applications in the auto and consumer sectors.