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 slipped on Tuesday as concerns eased about the fallout from the overthrow of Syria's president, despite support from China's plan to ramp up policy stimulus - a potential boost to demand from the world's biggest crude buyer. Brent crude futures fell 24 cents to $71.90 per barrel at 1009 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was down 28 cents at $68.09. Both benchmarks had risen more than 1% on Monday. In Syria, rebels were working to form a government and restore order after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, with the country's banks and oil sector set to resume work on...
EUR/USD slides to near 1.0530 in Tuesday's European session as investors turn cautious ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB) monetary policy meeting, which will be announced on Thursday. Traders have priced in a 25-basis points (bps) reduction in the Deposit Facility Rate to 3%. This would be the third interest rate cut decision by the ECB in a row. Market experts assume that a slew of factors, including Donald Trump's victory in the United States (US) Presidential elections, political turmoil in France and Germany, and a sharp slowdown in the Eurozone business activity compelled...
Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Michele Bullock is due to address a press conference and respond to media questions as part of a new reporting format for the central bank that started this year. The RBA maintained the benchmark interest rate at 4.35% for the ninth straight meeting earlier this Tuesday. The central bank, however, softened its hawkish tone, hinting at a dovish pivot early next year. This section below was published at 03:30 GMT to cover the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy announcements and the initial market reaction. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)...
The Australian dollar weakened past $0.64 on Tuesday, reversing gains from the previous session, after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept its policy rate unchanged at 4.35% for the ninth straight meeting. However, the slightly more dovish tone from the central bank in its policy statement fueled market expectations of an earlier rate cut than previously anticipated. Last week, data showed Australia's economy grew just 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to September, lower than the 0.4% growth expected by markets. In addition, business confidence in Australia weakened sharply in...
Gold rose above $2,660 an ounce on Tuesday, rising for a second straight session, supported by a shift in Chinese policy and geopolitical risks in the Middle East. China's ruling Politburo on Monday announced plans to ease monetary policy for the first time in 14 years to stimulate the economy, boosting market sentiment across commodities. In addition, China's central bank added gold to its reserves for the first time in seven months, bolstering demand for the precious metal. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, particularly the fall of the Syrian government, also added further...