Global economy slows as stock markets search for direction
The OECD, a major international organization, has warned that global economic growth will slow down. Instead of an acceleration, the organization sees less robust growth for the coming period. This news is causing caution among investors worldwide.
Despite this warning, European stock markets showed a positive picture around noon. Prices rose slightly, partly thanks to strong economic figures from China. These figures gave European trading a boost at the start of the week.
In the United States, the picture on the stock markets was less clear. There were varying reports about the opening of Wall Street. While some predictions pointed to a slightly higher start, other signals indicated a slightly lower opening. This shows that there is currently a lot of uncertainty in the US market.
New figures on the US economy were also not very positive. Retail sales rose less sharply in February than experts had expected. Additionally, the Empire State index, which measures industrial activity around New York, fell very sharply in March.
There is also a decline in other sectors of the US economy. Confidence among homebuilders in the United States decreased further in March. A small bright spot was that business inventories rose in January, which was exactly in line with economists' expectations.
In addition to the stock markets, there is also a lot of attention on gold and cryptocurrencies. The bank UBS expects the gold price to rise further, after it recently reached a record high of more than $3,000. At the same time, investors are looking at the cryptocurrency Ripple (XRP), which is at a critical point and may soon make a major price move.