European shares closed flat on Wednesday, surrendering early session gains, as healthcare stocks felt the pinch from U.S. President Donald Trump's latest threat to impose higher tariffs on pharmaceutical imports. The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.06% lower, breaking its two-day winning streak despite starting the session on a positive note. Healthcare stocks bore the brunt of the selling pressure. The sector index plunged 2.8% to its lowest level in more than three months after Trump unveiled a graduated tariff plan targeting pharmaceutical imports that could see levies on the...
Gold prices were steady on Tuesday as investors took a cautious stance ahead of the upcoming U.S. economic data that could provide insights into the Federal Reserve's interest rate path. Spot gold was nearly unchanged at $2,636.50 per ounce, as of 0156 GMT, after falling as much as 1% on Monday. U.S. gold futures was flat at $2,659.00. The dollar drifted higher, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for overseas buyers. Key U.S. data this week includes the job openings due later in the day, the ADP employment report on Wednesday, and the payrolls report on Friday. "It seems...
USD/JPY climbs back closer to 150.00 mark.The Japanese Yen (JPY) edges lower against its American counterpart during the Asian session on Tuesday and pushes the USD/JPY pair away from the lowest level since October 16 touched the previous day. However, speculations that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) could hike interest rates again in December should limit any meaningful JPY depreciation. Apart from this, US President-elect Donald Trump's looming trade tariff threats, along with persistent geopolitical risks, might underpin the safe-haven JPY. Meanwhile, the recent decline in the US Treasury bond...
Global oil prices ended little changed Monday, while U.S. prices posted a modest gain as upbeat manufacturing data from China lifted prospects for energy demand. A cease-fire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah led to a drop in prices for the month of November. Weakness on Friday came after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies — known together as OPEC+ — delayed until Thursday a meeting that had been set for Sunday. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery rose 10 cents, or nearly 0.2%, to settle at $68.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile...
Gold traded lower mid-afternoon on Monday as the dollar climbed on rising expectations the Federal Reserve may not lower interest rates when the central bank's policy committee meets later this month. Gold for February delivery was last seen down US$21.70 to US$2,659.30 per ounce. The precious metal has been mostly rangebound since correcting from a record high of US$2,800.80 on Oct.30, as the dollar surged following the U.S. election and inflation remains stuck above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. "Gold slipped as the dollar rose overnight, highlighting its current rangebound behavior...
Crude oil prices have started to rise as tensions mount ahead of the most important OPEC+ meeting before 2025, which will be held on Thursday. Ahead of the meeting, Iranian official Afshin Javan made an ominous statement by issuing an opinion piece that blamed OPEC+ for the current low prices. The main point of the opinion piece was that OPEC+ had kept oil prices high for too long, funding its competitors to boost cheaper alternatives. The debate is heated ahead of Thursday's online meeting after Afshin Javan's opinion piece, where OPEC+ will agree to extend its production curbs. At the...