European stocks continued their gains for a second consecutive session on Tuesday (June 5), with the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 rising 0.4%. Investors continued to shift their focus to corporate earnings while closely monitoring global trade developments. Meanwhile, market participants are increasingly anticipating a potential interest rate cut by the Fed. In the corporate sector, BP shares rose 1.1% after the oil major reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings. Diageo jumped 6% after reaffirming its full-year forecast, while DHL jumped 5% following a solid profit...
After weakening against its major peers on improving risk sentiment and disappointing US data on Tuesday, the US Dollar (USD) struggled to maintain its position on Wednesday morning. Later in the session, the US economic calendar will feature the ADP Employment Change and ISM Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data for January. Investors will also continue to watch comments from central bank officials throughout the day. The USD index fell about 0.4% on Tuesday after the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that JOLTS Job Openings fell to 7.6 million in December, below market...
Oil prices fell on Wednesday as rising US inventories and market concerns about a renewed China-US trade war offset President Donald Trump's renewed push to eliminate Iranian crude exports. Brent crude fell 21 cents, or 0.28%, to $75.99 a barrel by 0701 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 11 cents, or 0.15%, to $72.59. Crude prices traded in a wide range on Tuesday, with WTI down at one point as much as 3%, the lowest since December 31, after China announced tariffs on US oil, liquefied natural gas and coal imports in retaliation for US levies on Chinese exports. But prices...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) maintained its bullish bias through the early European session on Wednesday (February 5), with the USD/JPY pair holding just above the 153.00 mark, its lowest level since December 13. A rise in Japanese real wages reaffirmed bets that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will raise interest rates again, which in turn, provided a strong boost to the JPY. Moreover, prospects for further policy easing by the Federal Reserve (Fed) would result in a further narrowing of the interest rate differential between the US and Japan. This turned out to be another factor driving flows towards...
The Australian dollar (AUD) weakened against the US dollar (USD) amid rising risk aversion amid growing concerns over US-China trade tensions. The AUD/USD pair failed to gain support from the Judo Bank Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) released on Wednesday. The Judo Bank Australia Composite PMI rose to 51.1 in January from 50.2 in December, reflecting modest growth in private sector activity. Meanwhile, the Judo Bank Services PMI rose to 51.2 from 50.8, marking the twelfth straight month of expansion in the services sector. Despite the modest growth, it was the strongest since August. The...
Gold prices (XAU/USD) continued to rise throughout the Asian session on Wednesday (5/2) and climbed to an all-time high, around the $2,858 region in the last hour. Concerns about the economic impact of US President Donald Trump's trade tariffs continued to support demand for the safe-haven bullion. Further, expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will maintain its easing cycle, supported by signs of slowing momentum in the US labor market, contributed to driving flows towards the non-yielding yellow metal. Meanwhile, the US Dollar (USD) languished near weekly lows amid prospects of...