Must read: Fresnillo rallies, precious metals, Heathrow, Strava IPO

GLOBAL MARKETS

The FTSE 100 has opened higher, although it is logging more modest gains than the DAX and CAC 40. Defence stocks are under pressure, with Babcock International Group (LSE:BAB), BAE Systems (LSE:BA.) and Rolls-Royce Holdings (LSE:RR.) at the bottom of the UK basket. Fresnillo (LSE:FRES) is the top gainer on the FTSE 100 after a short squeeze for silver. In France, Lecornu announced a new cabinet on Sunday after his reappointment as Prime Minister last week, helping to at least temporarily avoid a full-blown political crisis in Paris.

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Fears of escalating trade tensions between the US and China have pushed stocks in Asia into the red again, with the Hang Seng and the CSI300 falling sharply. This is outweighing better than expected trade data from China, with forecast topping imports and exports failing to lift sentiment.

US markets fell sharply on Friday with the S&P 500 shedding 2.7%, its biggest drop since April and the Nasdaq plunging over 3.5%, with tech stocks hit hardest because of their reliance on rare earths from China. However, futures markets are pointing to a partial rebound at the US market open.

HEATHROW

Nearly 7.4 million passengers travelled through Heathrow last month, the busiest ever September after a record-breaking summer.

However, passenger numbers grew by just 0.3% so far this year, with a 2.2% and 2.7% drop in UK and non-EU Europe passengers respectively offset by a 2.3% increase in passengers from Asia.

This sluggish growth is down to capacity constraints which will ease once Heathrow’s third runway is completed, although that is likely to take around a decade. The expansion plans are expected to add 276,000 flights a year, equating to around a 57% increase from today’s capacity.

Heathrow also faced headwinds in September from a cyberattack on Collins Aerospace’s Muse software that impacted airlines’ check in and boarding systems across Europe.

GOLD / SILVER

Precious metals continue to scale fresh highs. Gold is up over 2% having pushed above $4,000/ounce on Friday to log its eighth straight weekly gain. Meanwhile, silver is up nearly 5% today, and platinum is up 2.7% amid a broad-based rally across the complex.

The flight to safety trade has continued to propel gold and silver, fuelled by Trump’s unpredictability, with the threat of fresh tariffs on China that raises concerns about an escalating trade war between the two superpowers. The developments sparked a heavy sell-off on Wall Street driven by tech stocks, with investors buying gold and silver instead.

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Uncertainty has also weighed on the US dollar this year, with greenback weakness further underpinning gains for gold and silver. Central bank buying and Federal Reserve rate cuts have provided further tailwinds for gold. Silver has also been subject to a short squeeze, extending this year’s rally. Then the US government shutdown provides further uncertainty pushing up demand for safety assets. And there’s a feeling that many investors, unsure where to put there money, have been watching gold’s appreciation and have hopped on the bandwagon hoping not to miss out on the latest exciting investment idea.

STRAVA

According to the Financial Times, Strava is considering an IPO in the United States. The fitness tracking app, popular with runners and cyclists has exhibited strong growth in recent years, with users sharing their workouts with friends online. It is averaging 50 million monthly users this year, making it the market leader. It is valued at around $2.2 billion, according to a funding round from May.

Strava has been pursuing an inorganic growth strategy lately by acquiring Runna and The Breakaway this year in order to grow its users and expand the capabilities of its app. It has also previously acquired a mapping company, Fatmap in 2023 and Recover Athletics in 2022.

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Strava has benefitted from the huge rise in running and cycling since the pandemic when gyms were closed and home workouts were the only option. It has also benefitted from the increased health consciousness of younger generations who often prefer running and matcha lattes to late nights and binge drinking.

Strava is perfectly positioned at the intersection between fitness and social media and can work hand in hand with brands and influencers to target more users. It offers a freemium model where a basic app is available for free, but once users become more regular, they might choose to upgrade to enjoy enhanced training tools such as more detailed activity analysis and better route planning.