Dhiren Sarin, Chief Technical Strategist, Asia Pacific at Barclays says Japan is only recently catching up to the easing monetary policies of the West so it is feasible to expect the Nikkei to reach highs of 18,000.
Bruce Kasman, Chief Economist & Managing Director of Global Research at JP Morgan says that the global environment is shifting in favor of risky assets with reduced tail risks after global central bank moves.
CNBC's Bertha Coombs discusses the day's activity in the commodities markets. After the dollar slipped, oil and gasoline futures climbed a bit. Nat gas was down on a bigger-than-expected build. A mixed picture in the metals markets, as well.
CNBC's Bertha Coombs reports on gold from the NYMEX. Meanwhile 13F filings reveal what heavyweight money managers are buying and selling when it comes to the metals and miners, with CNBC's Josh Lipton. George Gero, RBC Capital Markets, and Mihir Dange, Grafite Capital, also weigh in.
Japan's wrong-headed policies doom it to injecting more money into the system, spurring inflation, which will dramatically boost the price of gold, said Euro Pacific Capital's Peter Schiff.
The FMHR crew have the play on Wal-Mart, Groupon, and Williams Lyon Homes. And, a look at the trade on gold, with the Futures Now team and CNBC's Josh Lipton.
Gold investment nearly halved in the first quarter as a brighter view of the U.S. economy prompted investors in the West to favor other assets like stocks over bullion.
CNBC's Bertha Coombs says negative economic data from Europe put pressure on commodities overall. Prices at the pump are 12 cents below where they were a year ago.
Wednesday was a tough day for gold, as it dropped to below $1,400 for the first time in nearly a month. But traders foresee still more pain for the precious metal.
Gold is a "classic bubble" and could go drop to $500 an ounce, Fortress Investment's Michael Novogratz tells CNBC. "Once bubbles pop, they go all the way down," he says.