Daily summary: Metals and Wall Street on the rise; NATGAS underperforming 💡

We are slowly approaching the end of this week's first session on the financial markets.

Sentiment improved significantly at the end of the day in Europe and during the second phase of the Wall Street session. The US100 contract is up nearly 1%, while the US500 and US2000 are up 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively. Today's gains are primarily driven by large-cap technology companies. Shares in companies such as Oracle, Palantir and Applovin are gaining between +5% and +15%. At the same time, Nvidia is up 3% and Broadcom 4%.

Hims & Hers (HIMS) shares are under heavy pressure today due to the cumulative effect of the FDA/HHS investigation into GLP-1 combination drugs and Novo Nordisk's patent lawsuit regarding an oral "copy" of Wegovy, while Novo Nordisk shares are rebounding on the perceived limitation of the GLP-1 combination drugs and Novo Nordisk's patent lawsuit regarding an oral "copy" of Wegovy, while Novo Nordisk shares are rebounding on the perceived limitation of the G HHS investigation into GLP-1 combination drugs and Novo Nordisk's patent lawsuit over an oral "copy" of Wegovy, while Novo Nordisk shares are rebounding on perceived reduced competition from cheaper preparations and an announced share buyback of up to DKK 15 billion.

The Stoxx 600 index gained 0.7% and remains at historically record levels. At the same time, the German DAX index gained 1.15%, and the British UK100 index erased early losses and rose 0.15%.

STMicroelectronics (STM) shares are up more than 8% in today's trading session following the announcement of a significant expansion of its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The new agreement positions STM as a strategic supplier of semiconductors for AWS cloud infrastructure and data centres, covering microcontrollers, analogue circuits and chip design support tools.

The most important event of the day on the Polish market remains the news concerning InPost. Although the company is not listed on the Polish stock exchange, news about it is generating widespread interest among domestic investors. InPost announced a planned tender offer, under which an international consortium of investors wants to acquire all shares at a price of EUR 15.60 per share. The consortium consists of Advent International, FedEx, A&R Investments and the PPF group. The price offered in the tender offer is lower than the level of the public offering a few years ago, which the company's management explains by the significant change in market conditions that has occurred since the IPO. This information is attracting the attention of investors because it concerns one of the most recognisable Polish companies operating in the logistics and e-commerce sector, and at the same time shows how the environment for growth companies in Europe has changed.

The so-called "Takaichi trade" has once again taken centre stage following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's coalition's decisive victory in the lower house elections. The LDP won 316 of the 465 seats, and together with the 36 seats won by the Ishin party, the coalition secured a two-thirds majority (over 310 seats). This result removes key legislative barriers and strengthens expectations for fiscal expansion, including the proposed two-year suspension of the 8% sales tax on food, which markets see as supporting economic growth but also as a challenge to the stability of Japan's public finances.

Precious metals continue to see very strong gains today. SILVER is up nearly 7% from Friday's close, and GOLD is up 2.1%. Both metals are back above their 50-day EMA.

The US dollar is performing very poorly on the Forex market. The gap between other currencies is very large, even though we are also seeing weakness in the British pound. On the other hand, we are seeing the largest increases in the Swiss franc and the Australian dollar.

The price of natural gas lost more than 6% at the start of the week, falling 12% from Friday's peak and testing support at $3.2/MMBtu – last week's local lows. The main factors are improved weather forecasts (warmer weather in the US after the cold spell reduces heating demand) and weaker industrial demand, despite a 360 bcf drop in inventories – inventories are still above last year's levels. A break below support would open the way to the USD 2.8-3.0/MMBtu zone.