Volatility remains a key driver in European markets: gold halts its decline but posts its worst month since 2008

European markets opened Tuesday’s session in positive territory, albeit with signs of fragility. The initial tone reflects cautious investor optimism, supported by some macroeconomic data and technical repositioning, but the broader picture remains uncertain.

Tensions linked to the conflict in the Middle East continue to weigh heavily on global sentiment. As a result, financial markets are still experiencing elevated volatility, with investors remaining highly reactive to geopolitical developments.

Main index trends

The session opened with moderate gains across major European indices, which attempted to move higher after the first exchanges. Rather than signaling a strong directional trend, the early performance reflects typical technical volatility.

In Madrid, the IBEX 35 rose by 0.92% to 17,125.10 points, while in London the FTSE 100 gained 0.79%, reaching 10,208.42 points.

In Milan, Piazza Affari also started cautiously, with the FTSE MIB hovering around 44,135.35 points, up 0.71%. Similar movements were recorded for Frankfurt’s DAX (+0.78%) and Paris’s CAC 40, which posted a more contained increase of 0.65%.Finally, the pan-European STOXX Europe 600 advanced by 0.79% at the open, reflecting a wait-and-see attitude among investors, who are monitoring early trading volumes without taking aggressive positions, pending clearer macroeconomic signals throughout the day.

The "black gold" and the "yellow gold": market dynamics

Yesterday in Washington, renewed hopes emerged after the President of the United States spoke about the possibility of a truce in the conflict ahead of the April 6 ultimatum. These statements immediately helped ease pressure on oil prices.

WTI crude posted a slight decline of 0.08%, falling to $113 per barrel. More broadly, crude prices showed signs of stabilization, hovering around the same level. Gold, on the other hand, moved higher on Tuesday, rising by 0.94% to $4,568 per ounce—suggesting a temporary halt in its recent decline. However, the precious metal is not enjoying a particularly favorable period: it has fallen by 14.6% over the past month, marking its worst monthly performance since the 2008 global financial crisis.