US Stocks plunged on Friday, as investors reacted to a weak July jobs report and a fresh round of tariffs announced by President Trump. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 1.6% and 2.2%, their steepest drops since April, while the Dow lost 542 points. Payrolls rose by just 73,000 in July, far below expectations, with sharp downward revisions to prior months signaling deeper labor market weakness. Treasury yields fell and the odds of a September Fed rate cut rose above 80%. Sentiment worsened after new tariffs of 10% to 41% were imposed on imports from key partners including Canada, India, and...
Gold was on track for its biggest weekly gain since November, as broad risk-off sentiment buoyed demand for haven assets. Bullion was trading near $2,660 an ounce after climbing 1.3% on Thursday, with investors monitoring increasing concerns over near-term volatility in stock markets. The Cboe's VIX Index climbed for the fourth time in five days, helping to underscore the appeal of safe assets such as gold. Meanwhile, a pair of deadly attacks in the US this week further compounded market angst, sparking domestic security concerns ahead of Donald Trump's official return...
Oil headed for a second weekly gain as US crude stockpiles continued to fall and as futures breached a key technical threshold. West Texas Intermediate traded above $73 a barrel after rising 2% on Thursday to the highest level since mid-October. Brent closed near $76. US nationwide inventories dropped for a sixth straight week, and stockpiles remain well below the five-year seasonal average. Oil has broken out of a narrow range it's been trading in since the mid-October, with a move by both benchmarks above their 100-day moving average leading to algorithmic buying. The outlook...
The USD/CHF pair continues to decline from its seven-month high of 0.9080, as the US Dollar Index (DXY) hovers near 108.30 after retreating from a multi-year high of 108.58 reached on Tuesday. During European trading hours on Thursday, the USD/CHF pair trades around 0.9050.Traders will likely observe the US weekly Initial Jobless Claims and S&P Global Manufacturing PMI for December, scheduled to be released later in the North American session.However, the downside of the US Dollar could be limited by growing expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will adopt a slow and cautious...
Gold (XAU/USD) prices extended intraday gains near $2,650 in the North American open on Thursday after the New Year holiday. The precious metal gained as its appeal as a safe-haven asset increased, with investors focused on President-elect Donald Trump taking office on January 20. Trump's expected incoming policies, such as higher import tariffs and lower taxes, would be a boon for Gold. Higher import tariffs would lead to a potential global trade war and lower taxes would increase inflationary pressures in the United States (US). Gold tends to outperform amid economic uncertainty as a...
The U.S. dollar weakened on Thursday as traders headed into the new year, but the greenback remained close to a two-year high seen earlier in the week and is likely to remain supported in the near term given a more hawkish Fed stance and expectations for the incoming Trump administration. At 4:45 AM ET (09:45 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, was trading 0.1% lower at 108.215, but remained close to a two-year high hit on Tuesday. Dollar to remain in demand in 2025 The index rose 7% in 2024 as traders sharply cut expectations for a...