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...
Oil prices nudged lower on Tuesday as China's economic data renewed demand concerns, while investors remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 11 cents at $70.60 a barrel at 0802 GMT, while Brent crude futures eased 2 cents to $73.89 a barrel. Prices were "weighed on by profit-taking after last week's 6% rally and a batch of disappointing Chinese economic data yesterday," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said. On Monday, prices fell from multi-week highs on unexpected weakness in consumer spending data from...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) continues to struggle to attract meaningful buyers and held near a three-week low against its US counterpart heading into the European session on Tuesday. Firming expectations that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will keep short-term interest rates unchanged later this week, coupled with a positive risk tone, continued to undermine the JPY's safe-haven appeal. Moreover, bets for a less dovish Federal Reserve (Fed) continued to support a pickup in the US Treasury bond yields, which turned out to be another factor weighing on the lower-yielding JPY. However, JPY market players...
Silver held below $30.5 an ounce on Tuesday (12/17) after facing heavy selling pressure in recent sessions, weighed down by concerns about a more measured pace of easing from the U.S. Federal Reserve next year. The Fed is widely expected to deliver a 25 basis point interest rate cut this week, but may signal fewer cuts for 2025 amid concerns about a potential resurgence in inflation. Silver and other metals are also facing pressure from ongoing demand uncertainty in China, the world's largest consumer of the metal. Earlier this week, data showed that China's retail sales growth slowed more...
Oil prices fell further on Tuesday as Chinese economic data renewed demand concerns, while investors remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 11 cents at $70.60 a barrel by 0409 GMT, while Brent crude was down 6 cents at $73.85 a barrel. Prices were "weighed down by profit-taking after last week's 6% rally and a batch of disappointing Chinese economic data yesterday," said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore. Prices fell from multi-week highs on Monday on unexpectedly weak consumer spending data from China,...
Gold was steady around $2,650 an ounce on Tuesday ahead of a two-day Federal Reserve meeting, with investors eyeing the central bank's 2025 outlook. The Fed is widely expected to deliver a 25bps interest rate cut, but uncertainty remains about the extent of future easing, especially with the prospect of higher inflation under the incoming Trump administration. Recent data showed that U.S. private sector activity grew at a faster pace in December, suggesting the Fed may limit rate cuts next year, which could dampen demand for the precious metal. However, bullion has gained about 29% this...