Tensions rise, but equity markets remain bullish

The US-China relations have deteriorated yet again as the Trump administration stated Monday that it would further tighten restrictions on China’s Huawei Technologies, cracking down on its access to commercially available chips.

That has weighed negatively on the market sentiment.

Nevertheless, the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose to new all-time highs on Monday. The Dow slid, and the SP500 failed to post new highs again.

The divergence between the technology sectors and the real economy (cyclical sectors) is getting bigger every day, and this probably won’t end well.

Elsewhere, the greenback remains under pressure, with the EURUSD pair revisiting the 1.19 level to the upside, which is supporting metals. Gold and silver are again on the rise, adding 1-2%, with gold crawling above 2,000 USD again.

The macro calendar will offer only US housing starts and building permits, which are both expected to rise slightly from the previous month’s levels. 

Traders will now focus on the Fed’s meeting, which starts today and concludes tomorrow. The Fed should remain as dovish as possible, which might fuel stocks to even record-er highs.