Thursday is also the first trading day of the month, and investors may want to put capital to work. Wednesday’s surge in risk appetite, especially in chip stocks, may fuel those spirits.
Investors usually baulk at volatility but appear to be embracing it right now. Look at Nvidia shares – down 7% on Tuesday then soaring 13% on Wednesday to bring its market cap back above $3 trillion.
That’s a one-day increase in market value of over $350 billion.
Wednesday’s action across all markets may have been tied to position adjustments on the last trading day of the month, but was nevertheless extraordinary.
The Nasdaq had its best day since February last year, geopolitical tensions helped fuel a 5% rise in WTI crude oil for its best day this year, and palladium was the pick of the bunch in a buoyant precious metals complex, rising 4%.
U.S. bond yields fell to their lowest since February or March, depending on what part of the curve, while the dollar’s slump against a rampant yen dragged down its broader value against a range of G10 and emerging currencies.
