Gold price advances during the North American session on Friday as the US Dollar weakens, with traders booking profits ahead of the weekend. Additionally, a Fed Governor's comments turned more dovish than expected, supporting a rate cut in July. At the time of writing, the XAU/USD trades at $3,353, up 0.43%. The market mood is upbeat after the University of Michigan (UoM) revealed that Americans have become optimistic about the economy and expect inflation to edge lower. Recently, Fed Governor Christopher Waller suggested that the central bank should cut interest rates at the upcoming...
U.S. stocks rallied on Friday to close out a strong week on optimism over the health of the economy and path of interest rates as investors braced for a slew of policy changes under the incoming Trump administration. The S&P 500 and Dow Industrials registered their biggest weekly percentage gains since early November and the Nasdaq recorded its best since early December. Data this week allayed fears that inflation would resurge while expectations have grown that the Federal Reserve will bump up the timing and magnitude of rate hikes this year. The Commerce Department reported on Friday...
European markets closed in positive territory on Friday with London's FTSE 100 ending the session at a record high. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended Friday 0.68% higher, with nearly all sectors and all major bourses in the green. Mining stocks led the gains, with the sector up 2% after Bloomberg reported Glencore had been in talks with Rio Tinto to explore the industry's largest ever merger. Novo Nordisk was the one of biggest detractors sliding by 4.3%. The U.K.'s mining-heavy FTSE 100 index strengthened provisionally by 1.35% to surpass a record close above 8,500 points. The rise...
US stocks were higher on Friday, with the S&P rising 0.9%, the Dow gaining 290 points and the Nasdaq soaring 1.5%. Investors continue to assess the Fed's potential to implement further rate cuts this year, supported by this week's softer-than-expected core inflation, PPI, and retail sales data. Markets are also looking ahead to Monday's inauguration of President-elect Trump for potential clarity on forthcoming policy changes. Additionally, corporate updates are in focus: Truist Financial shares climbed over 4.5% after the company reported earnings and revenue that exceeded...
The Hang Seng rose 61 points, or 0.3%, to close at 19,584 on Friday, marking its fourth session of gains amid upbeat economic data from China. The country's GDP grew 5.4% year-on-year in Q4, the fastest pace since Q2 2023, meeting the official target of around 5% thanks to stimulus measures in recent months. Meanwhile, industrial output rose 6.2% year-on-year in December, the highest in eight months, and retail sales recovered from a three-month low in November. Locally, figures from the Hong Kong Tourism Board showed tourist arrivals in the city jumped 31% to nearly 45 million in 2024,...
European stock markets rose on Friday, boosted by stronger-than-expected Chinese growth data that overshadowed disappointing retail sales figures from the U.K. At 3:05 a.m. ET (08:05 GMT), Germany's DAX index was up 0.5%, France's CAC 40 was up 0.5% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 1%. China's economy grew 5.4% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, data released earlier on Friday showed, significantly beating analysts' expectations and marking the fastest growth since the second quarter of 2023. For the full year of 2024, the world's second-largest economy expanded 5.0%, meeting the...
Japanese stocks fell after the close on Friday, as losses in the Transportation, Automobiles & Parts and Pharmaceuticals sectors led shares lower. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.41% to hit a fresh 1-month low. The best performers on the Nikkei 225 were Hino Motors, Ltd. (TYO:7205), which rose 7.59% or 42.40 points to trade at 601.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Taiheiyo Cement Corp. (TYO:5233) gained 6.30% or 218.00 points to close at 3,677.00 and Okuma Corp. (TYO:6103) gained 4.79% or 160.00 points to close at 3,500.00 in the last trade. The worst performers of the...
The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 1.1% to around 38,160, while the broader Topix Index fell 1.3% to 2,653 on Friday, marking their lowest levels in at least a month. The declines followed losses on Wall Street overnight, driven by a sell-off in megacap technology stocks. Investor focus shifted to the upcoming Bank of Japan monetary policy decision, as Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated on Wednesday that the central bank would consider raising interest rates at its next meeting. In corporate news, Nintendo saw a sharp 6% drop after announcing the launch of its Switch 2 console later this year. Other...
U.S. stocks dipped on Thursday as a jump in the prior session cooled, while investors eyed the most recent corporate earnings and gauged economic data to determine the path of Federal Reserve rate cuts. A benign reading on inflation calmed fears about a renewal in price pressures and strong bank earnings helped the three major U.S. indexes notch their biggest one-day percentage gain since Nov. 6 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley (MS.N), advanced 4.03% after the lender said earnings increased in the fourth quarter, propelled by a wave of dealmaking, while Bank of America (BAC.N), shares declined...
Gold (XAU/USD) is extending its decline on Wednesday for a second consecutive day as the US Dollar (USD) and US Treasury yields firm ahead of the release of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)...
Oil extended declines after OPEC+ agreed to a bigger-than-expected production increase next month, raising concerns about oversupply just as US tariffs fan fears about the demand outlook.
Brent...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) weakened against its US counterpart and reversed part of Friday's recovery from the lowest level since July 23 following Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda's remarks....