US stock market closed, pan-European stock indices hit a two-year high again, the rising trend in Germany and France paused, while crude oil hit a three-month high consecutively.

On Monday, the U.S. financial markets were closed for Presidents' Day holiday. In the European stock market, the healthcare sector blue-chip stocks Astrazeneca and Novo Nordisk AS led the way, while mining stocks fell due to declines in various basic metals such as iron ore and copper, dragging down the market along with a retreat in the technology sector.

In the commodity market, international crude oil continued to hit a three-month high. Analysts believe that geopolitical tensions have overshadowed market concerns about demand, further boosting oil prices. On Monday, tensions escalated in the Red Sea, with Houthi forces claiming to have attacked two U.S. ships, leading to the complete sinking of the British cargo ship "Red Sapphire."

German stocks fall from record highs, Novo Nordisk AS hits new highs for five consecutive days

The pan-European stock index rose for four consecutive trading days. The STOXX 600 index closed up nearly 0.2%, marking a three-day streak of closing highs since January 5, 2022. Major European country indices had mixed performances. German and Italian stocks, which had risen for three consecutive days, retreated. German stocks temporarily bid farewell to the closing historical highs set over the past two days, while the Spanish index fell for two consecutive days. The French index closed slightly higher, roughly flat, marking three consecutive trading days of closing historical highs, and the UK index rose for four consecutive days.

In the STOXX 600 sectors, healthcare rose by over 0.9%, with UK-listed pharmaceutical company Astrazeneca rising by 3.2% following the FDA approval of its star cancer drug Tagrisso for lung cancer treatment, supporting the rise of the UK index. In addition, Novo Nordisk AS, the highest market value pharmaceutical company in Europe listed in Denmark, rose by 0.8%, hitting a new closing high for five consecutive trading days, helping the Danish index set a new closing high for four consecutive days. Basic resources in the mining sector fell by about 1%, leading the decline, while the technology sector dropped by over 0.8%. Among the constituents, ASML, the highest market value chip stock listed in the Netherlands, fell by 1.7%, giving back all gains from last Friday and failing to approach the closing historical high set last Monday.

In other individual stocks, Spain's largest bank Santander rose by 1.8% after announcing a new €1.57 billion share buyback plan and increasing dividends by about 50%, supporting a rebound in the Spanish index. German defense company Rheinmetall rose by 4.1% after announcing plans to open an ammunition factory in Ukraine with a local partner. Curry's, a UK-listed electrical retailer, surged by 36.4% after JD.com stated it was evaluating a potential acquisition offer.

German 10-year bond yields near two-month highs

With the U.S. markets closed, European bond prices showed mixed performances, with UK bond yields rising before retreating and German 10-year bond yields maintaining an upward trend. By the end of the bond market session, the UK 10-year benchmark bond yield was around 4.11%, roughly unchanged from last Friday's level, approaching a daily high of 4.13% and still some distance from the high of around 4.17% reached after the U.S. CPI data release last Tuesday, the highest since December 4, 2023. The 2-year UK bond yield is around 4.60%, dropping by about 1 basis point intraday, hitting a high of 4.67% and not approaching the high of 4.71% set since the end of November 2023.

By the end of the bond market session, the benchmark 10-year German government bond yield is around 2.41%, rising by about 1 basis point intraday, approaching the high of 2.42% set since December 1st after the US PPI announcement last Friday; the 2-year German bond yield is around 2.81%, holding steady compared to last Friday, not far from the high of 2.84% set since December 1st after the US PPI announcement.

The US dollar index stabilizes, offshore RMB briefly rises above 7.21 and then retreats by over 100 points

Tracking a basket of six major currencies including the euro, the ICE US Dollar Index (DXY) hit a low of 104.14 before the European stock market session, falling by over 0.1% intraday, then rebounding and maintaining an upward trend during the usual pre-US stock market session, reaching a high of around 104.40 to 104.373 during the usual early US stock market session, rising by nearly 0.1% intraday, still not approaching the high of 105.00 set since November 14, 2023.

By the end of the US stock market session on Monday, the US dollar index is above 104.20, slightly down intraday for two consecutive trading days, failing to completely reverse the downward trend from last Wednesday and Thursday; the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, tracking the US dollar against ten other currencies, is slightly down, stabilizing after halting a two-day decline last Friday.

Among non-US currencies, the Japanese yen, which fell last week, rebounded slightly. The USD/JPY fell below 150.00 in the early Asian session, dropping below 149.90, down by over 0.2% intraday, with most losses narrowing during the European and American trading sessions; the EUR/USD approached 1.0760 to hit a daily low during the usual early US stock market session, falling by over 0.1% intraday, then slightly rebounding, not approaching the low of 1.0700 set since November 14, 2023; the GBP/USD fell below 1.2590 during the European stock market session and hit a daily low, still some distance from the low of 1.2520 set since December 23, 2021.

The offshore RMB (CNH) against the US dollar rose to 7.2040 in the early Asian session, hitting a new high since February 9th last Friday, then reaching a high since February 8th before falling back. It dropped below 7.21 during the European stock market session, falling to 7.2162 from the daily high, down by 122 points, then rebounding. At 5:59 AM on February 20th Beijing time, the offshore RMB against the US dollar was at 7.2114 yuan, up 14 points from the New York closing last Friday, rising for four consecutive trading days.

Bitcoin (BTC) briefly rose above $52,400 before the European stock market session, then fluctuated and fell back. During the midday US stock market session, it fell below $52,000 to below $51,700, dropping over $800 from the daily high, a decrease of over 1%.

Crude Oil Prices Rebound After Falling Over 1% Intraday, Marking Three Consecutive Days of Gains and Two Days of Three-Month Highs

International crude oil futures rebounded during the trading session. In early European stock trading, the U.S. WTI crude oil fell below $78.70, dropping nearly 0.7% during the day, while Brent crude oil fell below $82.60, down 1.1% intraday. As usual, U.S. stocks turned higher before the market opened, with U.S. oil rising above $79.70 and Brent oil climbing to $83.60, up nearly 0.2% intraday.

Ultimately, Brent crude oil futures for April closed up $0.09, an increase of nearly 0.11%, at $83.56 per barrel, marking three consecutive trading days of gains and two consecutive days of highs since November 6, 2023. If U.S. oil maintains its upward trend on Monday, it is likely to see a three-day rally on Tuesday, potentially setting new closing highs since November 6, 2023, due to no closing prices on Monday due to the holiday.

London Tin Falls by 2%, Copper Drops from Two-Week High, Aluminum Declines for Third Consecutive Day, Gold Continues to Rise

Most London base metal futures fell on Monday. Tin led the decline, falling by about 2% for the fourth consecutive trading day, hitting a low for the past week. Lead fell by about 1%, ending a three-day rally and falling from highs seen over the past week. Aluminum dropped nearly 1%, marking a three-day decline and hitting lows not seen since late January for two consecutive days. Copper, which surged over 2% last Friday, fell from the two-day high set on February 1, failing to approach $8,500 at the close. Nickel, which rebounded to highs since the end of January last Friday, saw a slight pullback. Zinc, on the other hand, continued its three-day rally, setting new highs for over a week.

New York gold futures continued their rebound from last Friday. Due to no closing prices on Monday due to the holiday, COMEX April gold futures rose to $2,034.30 in early Asian trading, up 0.5% intraday, surpassing the intraday high since February 13 last Tuesday.

If the upward trend continues until the close on Tuesday, gold futures will see three consecutive days of gains, potentially reaching a new closing high since February 12, moving away from the lows seen since December 13, 2023, which were set after a five-day decline last Wednesday.

Spot gold rose to above $2,023 in early European trading on Monday, up nearly 0.5% intraday, also hitting intraday highs since February 13.