Morning Bid: Copper edges past silver to take gold

A look ‌at the day ahead in European and global markets from Gregor Stuart Hunter

After ‍a ‌banner year for precious metals, industrial metals are in focus today as the prospect ⁠of more stimulus from China pushes Shanghai ‌copper futures to a record high. 

As the U.S. dollar falls to a two-month low after this week's Fed rate cut and policy stance pushed back against the market's hawkish outlook, investors are ⁠turning to real assets to protect their purchasing power.

So-called dollar debasement trades had already lifted silver, which edged ​down 0.3% on Friday after hitting a fresh record of $64.31 ‌the day earlier, while gold drew ⁠back from a seven-week high.

Stock markets in Asia posted gains even though AI bubble jitters undermined tech shares. Strength on Wall Street helped lift the MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan ​Index 0.8%, while the Topix surged 1.5% to a record high, led by a 6.7% gain for Sumitomo Metal Mining.  

The tech sector was rattled by a 13% decline in Oracle after weaker-than-expected revenue growth forecasts from the OpenAI cloud-computing partner.

Investors took some ​heart ‍after Broadcom projected better-than-expected revenue. ​But the relief was brief as shares tumbled 5% in after-hours trading after the company said it expected a dip in quarterly margins. Nasdaq futures slipped slightly, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were flat.

Oil prices also found their footing, but the drivers were geopolitical rather than demand-centred. Brent futures rose 0.7% to $61.70 as renewed threats from U.S. President Trump ⁠of strikes on drug routes between the U.S. and Venezuela on land raised supply fears, as several sources told Reuters that ​the U.S. is preparing to intercept more tankers. 

In early European trade, pan-region futures, German DAX futures and FTSE futures were all up 0.4% apiece.

Key developments that could influence markets on Friday:

Economic data:

Germany: CPI and HICP for November

U.K.: GDP ‌Estimate, Goods Trade Balance, and Industrial, Services and Manufacturing Output for October

France: CPI for November

Debt auctions:

U.K. 1-month, 3-month and 6-month government debt

(Reporting by Gregor Stuart HunterEditing by Shri Navaratnam)