European shares closed higher on Monday, rebounding from six-week lows as a surge in banking stocks offset a decline in Swiss shares following a hefty 39% U.S. tariff on Swiss goods. The pan-European STOXX 600 index, rose 0.9%, with most major regional markets, barring Swiss stocks, rebounding from Friday's sharp losses, when worries about tariffs and a weak U.S. jobs report hammered sentiment. The German DAX climbed 1.4%, France's CAC 40 rose 1.1% and Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.7%. Zurich's SMI index dipped 0.2% as trading resumed following a long weekend. Switzerland was left stunned on...
The Australian dollar (AUD) continued its upward momentum against the US dollar (USD) for the third straight session on Friday (1/24). The AUD/USD pair gained traction after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) conducted a medium-term lending operation. The Chinese central bank kept interest rates at 2.00% and injected 200 billion yuan ($27.46 billion) through a one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) to certain financial institutions, according to Reuters. Traders are likely to keep an eye on the release of the preliminary US S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) and the...
The US dollar index fell below 108 on Friday (1/24), set to drop more than 1% for the week. The decline came as President Donald Trump refrained from imposing aggressive tariffs after his inauguration, contrary to market expectations. In his speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump also called for immediate interest rate cuts and reiterated his commitment to lower taxes on US-based manufacturers, while promising tariffs on companies that produce overseas. Despite Trump's comments, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting next week. Market...
The yen was the currency market's leading currency on Friday(24/1) ahead of a Bank of Japan policy decision that will almost certainly raise interest rates, while the dollar headed for its worst week in two months. The BOJ ends its two-day policy meeting later in the day and markets have widely priced in a 25 basis point rate hike, with recent comments from BOJ officials also hinting at such a move. Ahead of the decision, the yen was little changed at 156.11 per dollar, near a one-week low hit in the previous session. The Japanese currency surged last week on rising expectations for a...
Oil headed for the first weekly decline this year after Donald Trump raised the prospect of trade wars and said he will ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to lower prices in his first few days as the new US president. West Texas Intermediate fell toward $74 a barrel, and is down almost 5% this week, while Brent closed near $78. Trump's first week in the White House began with tariff threats on Canada, Mexico and China, followed by a pledge that he would ask the producer group to "bring down the cost of oil." That's helped put futures on track for the biggest weekly loss since...
Gold is steady in the early Asian session, underpinned by U.S. President Trump's call for lower interest rates that would bolster the allure of the non-interest-bearing precious metal. Trump said Thursday that he would like to see rates "come down a lot" and implied that steps to keep a lid on price pressures were an important precursor to lower rates. Also, gold could remain well supported by several factors including expectations of continued institutional demand, says Ramy Zeytouni, market analyst at Ramy Zeytouni LLC, in an email. Spot gold is little changed at...