Gold (XAU/USD) Gold (XAU/USD) regains ground on Friday, edging modestly higher after earlier weakness, even as a resilient US Dollar (USD) caps upside momentum. At the time of writing, XAU/USD trades around $4,345, recovering from a daily low near $4,309. The precious metal briefly surged toward record highs on Thursday after US inflation data undershot expectations. However, gains quickly faded as softer inflation lifted risk appetite across equity markets and pushed Gold back within the range established earlier this week. That said, the downside appears limited, as a dovish Federal...
European stocks dipped on Monday, snapping a five-week winning streak, as a surprise U.S. credit rating downgrade and weak economic data from China weighed on investor sentiment. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.5% by 0725 GMT, retreating from seven-week highs touched on Friday. U.S. stock index futures fell more than 1% and longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields rose after credit rating agency Moody's cut its ratings on the country's debt, citing concerns about the nation's growing $36 trillion debt pile. Euro zone government bond yields also edged higher. [GVD/EUR] Meanwhile,...
Asia-Pacific markets fell Monday as investors assess the latest slate of economic data from China and Moody's downgrade of the U.S. credit rating. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 0.73%, while mainland China's CSI 300 dropped 0.48%. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 22 slipped 0.54% while the Topix lost 0.36%. South Korea's Kospi declined 0.47% and the small-cap Kosdaq traded 0.77% lower. Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.15%.On Friday, Moody's Ratings downgraded the U.S. sovereign credit rating by one level from Aaa to Aa1, citing mounting challenges in funding the federal...
(Hong Kong) The Hong Kong stock market opened on a softer note on May 19, with the Hang Seng Index (HSI) down 188 points, or 0.8%, at 23,156. The China Enterprises Index dropped 69 points, or 0.81%, to 8,399, while the Technology Index fell 53 points, or 1.01%, to 5,227. Technology stocks saw broad declines. Alibaba Group slid 2.8%, Meituan lost 1.7%, Xiaomi Corporation and JD.com both fell 1.3%, and Kuaishou dropped 0.8%. Tencent Holdings remained unchanged. The financial sector also struggled, with HSBC Holdings down 0.2%, AIA Group declining 0.9%, Ping An Insurance losing 1.1%, and Hong...
The Nikkei 225 dropped 247 points or 0.9% to 37,595 in Monday morning trade, while the broader Topix fell 0.3% to 2,733, tracking a plunge in U.S. futures after Moody's downgraded the U.S. credit rating to Aa1 from Aaa on Friday, citing a deteriorating fiscal trajectory and "a lack of effective policy action" to rein in deficits. Sentiment was further pressured by Treasury Secretary Bessent's warning that trade partners would face maximum tariffs if they failed to negotiate with the U.S. in "good faith." Additionally, Japan's Q1 2025 GDP shrank 0.2% qoq, worse than the expected 0.1% fall and...
The S&P 500 rose Friday for a fifth session and posted a sharp weekly gain, as investors looked past the release of disappointing consumer sentiment data and persistent inflation worry. The broad market index climbed 0.70% to end at 5,958.38, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.52% to close at 19,211.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 331.99 points, or 0.78%, settling at 42,654.74. Friday's advance put the 30-stock benchmark into positive territory for 2025. For the week, the S&P 500 surged 5.3%, and the Dow gained 3.4%. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 7.2% this week....
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) stepped into fresh weekly highs on Friday after investors shrugged off the second-worst print from the University of Michigan's (UoM) Consumer Sentiment Index on record. Market sentiment remains on the high side as traders hope for further clarity on trade from the Trump administration and a continued easing of President Donald Trump's tariff policies. The UoM's Consumer Sentiment Index sank to 50.8 from 52.2 as consumers' outlook for economic activity, income, and employment continues to decline. Investors were hoping for an uptick in consumer...
The European stock markets closed higher in Friday trading as the Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.28%, Germany's DAX was up 0.12%, the FTSE 100 rose 0.59%, France's CAC 40 increased 0.24%, and the Swiss Market Index advanced 0.61%. In France, the unemployment rate was 7.4% in Q1, up slightly from 7.3% in the previous quarter, according to the national statistics agency. In Italy, the annual inflation rate held steady at 1.9% in April, unchanged from March and slightly below the 2.0% forecast, according to Bloomberg. And in corporate news, Novo Nordisk said Friday that Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen...
US stocks hovered around the flatline on Friday (05/16), with volatility expected during the session as a large number of options expire. Despite the choppy trading, the three major indexes remained on track to post solid weekly gains. Market sentiment improved amid signs of easing trade tensions, as the U.S. and China agreed to temporarily ease tariffs. At the same time, a series of mostly weak economic data has reinforced expectations that the Fed has room to cut interest rates at least twice this year. Housing starts and building permits both came in below estimates, while export and...
Gold rises in the early Asian trade. There's a broad commodities uptrend, driven by macro uncertainty, a weaker dollar, and persistent demand for "hard" assets, says Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst...
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....