In the US, investors will be closely monitoring speeches by several Fed officials, the FOMC meeting minutes, and key economic indicators including the S&P Manufacturing and Services PMI, durable goods orders, and new and existing home sales. The earnings season is nearing its end, with reports expected from major corporations such as Palo Alto Networks, Lowe’s, Nvidia, PDD Holdings, TJX Companies, Analog Devices, Synopsys, Target, and Intuit. Globally, attention will be on interest rate decisions in China, New Zealand, South Korea, and Turkey. Inflation rates will be released for Canada, the UK, Japan, and South Africa. Additionally, Manufacturing and Services PMI data will be published for Australia, Japan, India, France, Germany, the Euro Area, and the United Kingdom. Consumer confidence figures will be reported for Australia, the UK, and the Euro Area, along with retail sales data for the UK and Canada and trade balance for the Euro Area and Japan.

Silver climbed past $30 per ounce, its highest level since January 2013 and up more than 25% year-to-date, fueled by robust investment and industrial demand. Although ETFs have shown little interest in silver, physical sales have increased since the metal appeared to be undervalued. Back in January, the gold-to-silver ratio exceeded 90, the widest spread since September 2022. It has since narrowed to around 80 and is estimated to drop further to 70 if the Fed cuts rates and the US economy stays resilient. Earlier US consumer inflation data and key monthly jobs report bolstered the chances of Fed rate reductions in 2024. However, these have been partially countered by rising export and import prices and hawkish comments from policymakers. Meanwhile, the commodity continued to benefit from its use in solar panels, which is expected to reach a record this year and push the silver market into its fourth consecutive deficit.

Foreign investors increased their exposure to Canadian securities by a net $14.37 billion in March 2024, the most since June last year, above market expectations of $3.51 billion, and compared to a revised net divestment of $4.28 billion in February. Foreign investment in debt securities was moderated by a divestment in equity securities. Foreign investors resumed their investment in Canadian debt securities, acquiring a significant $17.9 billion worth of these instruments. Government bonds, both federal (+$6.7 billion) and provincial (+$4.0 billion) instruments, as well as private corporate bonds (+$6.9 billion) accounted for most of the activity. On the other hand, non-resident investors divested $3.5 billion of Canadian equity securities in March, mainly sales of shares of the banking sector and, to a lesser extent, shares of the trade and transportation industry.

China's industrial production expanded by 6.7% year-on-year in April 2024, above market forecasts of 5.5%, faster than a 4.5% gain in the prior month. Activities in manufacturing (7.5% vs 5.1% in March), utilities (5.8% vs 4.9%), and mining (2.0% vs 0.2%) all accelerated amid continued support measures from the government. By industries, production accelerated for computer and communications (15.6% vs 10.6% in March), textile (6.6% vs 2.5%), electrical machinery and equipment (5.8% vs 4.8%), chemicals (12.3% vs 9.1%), non-ferrous metals (11.4% vs 11.2%), electricity and heat production and supply industry (5.7% vs 4.9%), and cars (16.3% vs 0.9%), while rebounding for coal, mining, and washing 1.5% vs -1.6%) and general equipment (3.7% after being flat in March). Meanwhile, production of the oil and natural gas mining industry continued to rise (0.7% vs 1.5%). Monthly, the industrial output rose by 0.97%. For the first four months of the year, industrial output grew by 6.3% yoy.

Nickel soared to nearly $21,000 per tonne mark, reaching its highest level since September 2023, as investors grew anxious over potential supply disruptions due to heightened tensions in New Caledonia. In the past three nights, thousands of people flooded the streets of New Caledonia to protest against the French government's attempts to alter voting laws in the island territory. Widespread rioting, looting, and the deaths of five people have compelled French authorities to declare a state of emergency and launch a police operation to reclaim control of the capital, Noumea. Since New Caledonia is a major global nickel mining region, worries about operations halts threatened to upend this year's projected market surplus. The sentiment was further bolstered by hedging activities against inflation and a more positive demand outlook from hopes of central banks interest rate cuts and a shift towards green energy

The German 10-year Bund yield rose past 2.47% on Friday following remarks from ECB board member Isabel Schnabel cautioning against further rate cuts post-June. Schnabel stated in an interview that a rate cut in June might be warranted depending on data and new Eurosystem staff projections. However, she emphasized the uncertainty beyond June, noting the challenge of achieving stable inflation. In contrast, US data released this week indicated a slowdown in inflation and economic growth in April, heightening expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts. Markets price in 68 bps of ECB rate cuts in 2024, down from 72 on Thursday, and 46 bps for the Fed, below 50 bps in the previous session.