Silver climbed above $48.3 per ounce on Monday, its highest level since April 2011, as the ongoing US government shutdown and expectations of further Federal Reserve rate cuts boosted demand for safe-haven assets. Lawmakers once again failed to secure a funding deal, halting key federal programs and delaying major data releases, including September's jobs report originally scheduled for Friday. Markets are now nearly fully pricing in a quarter-point Fed rate cut this month and another in December. Investors also await remarks from Fed Governor Stephen Miran on Wednesday and Chair Jerome...
European markets provisionally closed lower on Friday, led by declines in the travel sector which was down 1.6% after the closure of Heathrow airport. The pan-European Stoxx 600 and French CAC 40 were both about 0.6% lower by 4.40 p.m. London time, while the the German DAX shed 0.5%. London's FTSE 100 was about 0.6% lower. The travel and leisure sector lost about 1.6% after London's Heathrow Airport closed on Friday following a fire at a nearby electrical substation. British Airways-owner International Airlines Group was trading around 1.9% lower. Basic resources — including stocks such...
U.S. stocks plunged on Friday, putting the S&P 500 on track to extend its slide since late February that has been fueled by trade policy turmoil, recession fears and a rollover in megacap technology stocks. The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, putting the index on track for its first five-week decline in more than two years. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 302 points, or 0.7%. Traders had been bracing for a potentially volatile session on Friday with so-called "quadruple witching" — when stock options, index futures and single-stock futures expire. Goldman...
The STOXX 50 fell 0.5%, and the STOXX 600 dropped 0.3% on Friday, extending losses from the previous session as concerns over the economic outlook continued to weigh on investor sentiment. The U.S. is set to impose retaliatory tariffs on April 2, while the European Union's retaliatory measures have been delayed until mid-April. Travel and leisure shares were among the worst performers after London's Heathrow Airport was forced to close Friday due to a power outage caused by a fire at a nearby electrical substation. Meanwhile, traders were closely watching a vote by Germany's upper house on...
The Hang Seng plunged 530 points, or 2.2%, to close at 23,690 on Friday (3/21), marking its second straight decline amid sharp declines across all sectors. The index fell 1.1% for the week, extending its decline to two weeks, as rising profit-taking in technology stocks and caution ahead of upcoming Chinese corporate earnings weighed on sentiment. Semiconductor Manufacturing dropped 7.1% to a one-month low, while Kuaishou Tech (-5.4%), Alibaba Group (-3.5%), and Tencent (-2.0%) also fell sharply. Consumer, property and financial stocks also fell, as China's newly announced "special action...
Japan stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Shipbuilding, Manufacturing and Services sectors led shares lower. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.51%. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Mercari Inc (TYO:4385), which rose 7.45% or 182.50 points to trade at 2,633.50 at the close. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (TYO:8306) added 5.72% or 120.50 points to end at 2,226.00 and DeNA Co Ltd (TYO:2432) was up 4.08% or 137.00 points to 3,497.00 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were SUMCO Corp. (TYO:3436),...
Hong Kong stocks lost 283 points or 1.2 to 23,929 in Friday morning trade, marking their second straight session of decline as all sectors retreated. Sentiment remained weak following a drop on Wall Street overnight, as traders cautiously digested the latest U.S. economic data amid concerns over President Trump's tariffs. Meanwhile, uncertainty over the timing and scale of Beijing's latest plan to boost consumption prompted investors to move away from riskier assets. Among the early laggards were CK Asset Holdings (-5.7%), KE Holdings (-3.7%), Innovent Biologics (-3.6%), and Semiconductor...
The Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.5% to surpass 37,900, while the broader Topix Index rose 0.4% to 2,807 in post-holiday trade on Friday. Japanese stocks advanced as they caught up with global market gains, following the US Federal Reserve's signal of two interest rate cuts this year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell also reassured markets that tariff-driven inflation is likely "transitory." Both the Nikkei and Topix are on track to climb over 2% and 3%, respectively, for the week. In economic data, Japan's core inflation slowed to 3% in February from 3.2% in January but still exceeded forecasts of...
Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed, as Wall Street losses and uncertainty around the U.S. economy continued to weigh on equities. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.12% higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.34% while the Topix added 0.27%. South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.16% while the small-cap Kosdaq dipped 0.86%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were at 24,065 also weaker than the HSI's last close of 24,219.95. Japan's headline inflation rose 3.7% year on year in February, easing from a two-year high of 4% seen in January. U.S. stock futures traded around the flatline after an attempt...
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....