Silver surged more than 4% to above $66 per ounce on Wednesday, hitting fresh all-time highs as investors increasingly price in two interest rate cuts in early 2026. Support came from comments by Fed Governor Christopher Waller, a leading contender for the Fed chair role, who said US borrowing costs should be up to one percentage point lower. Waller warned that job growth has slowed to near zero and called for measured rate cuts next year to help support employment. Earlier in the week, US labor data reinforced signs of a cooling job market. The unemployment rate climbed to 4.6%, its...
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.7% to around 44,700 and the Topix gained 0.5% to 3,165 on Friday, with Japanese equities hitting fresh record highs in step with Wall Street's overnight rally. On Thursday, all three major US benchmarks closed at all-time highs as evidence of a cooling labor market and contained inflation strengthened expectations for deeper Federal Reserve rate cuts. In Japan, investors weighed the Bank of Japan's policy outlook against mixed economic indicators and ongoing political uncertainty. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba recently announced his resignation, facing mounting...
European stocks closed higher Thursday, as investors reacted to the latest policy decision by the European Central Bank as well as key U.S. inflation data. The DAX index in Germany climbed 0.3%, the CAC 40 in France gained 0.9% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. rose 0.8%. ECB meeting All eyes Thursday were on Frankfurt as the ECB concluded its latest policy-setting meeting, with policymakers keeping interest rates on hold, as widely expected, with inflation largely on target, but an uncertain growth and political outlook kept further easing open. The ECB cut its key deposit rate to 2% in June,...
US stocks were in the green on Thursday, with the S&P 500 adding 0.3% to hit new highs, while the Nasdaq was up 0.3% and the Dow Jones rose almost 200 points as investors digested the latest US CPI report. The data came largely in line with expectations, showing annual inflation accelerating to 2.9% while core inflation held steady at 3.1%. However, headline CPI rose 0.4% on the month, above forecasts of 0.3%. The report did little to shift market expectations for a Fed rate cut next week, with investors nearly fully pricing in three cuts by year-end. Meanwhile, initial jobless claims...
The Hang Seng Index fell 114 points, or 0.4%, to close at 26,086 on Thursday (September 11), halting a four-day rally and retreating from a four-year high amid broad sector weakness. Sentiment weakened after the New York Times reported that the US may impose restrictions on Chinese pharmaceuticals and tighten oversight of licensing agreements for experimental drugs. Pharmaceutical stocks led the decline, with Hansoh Pharma plunging 8.3%, followed by CSPC Pharma (-7.1%), Akeso Inc. (-4.7%), and Wuxi Biologics (-4.7%). Other stocks that also experienced significant declines included Meituan...
European stocks edged higher on Thursday ahead of the ECB policy decision and the US CPI release. At 07:05 GMT, Germany's DAX rose 0.1%, France's CAC 40 +0.3%, and the UK's FTSE 100 +0.3%. Gains were limited as investors chose to wait for these two key events. The focus is on Frankfurt. The ECB is expected to hold interest rates, having previously cut its benchmark rate to 2% through June and paused as inflation returns to target and growth stabilizes. However, the central bank will keep the option of further easing open if needed. Uncertainties add to the caution: 15% US tariffs on EU...
Japanese stocks were mixed following a Wall Street rally driven by the chip/tech sector. An unexpected decline in the US PPI fueled hopes of a Fed rate cut. Investors in Tokyo remained cautious ahead of the US CPI release.At 9:27 a.m. Tokyo time, the Topix index fell 0.3% to 3,132.94, while the Nikkei index rose 0.2% to 43,941.62. Of the 1,675 stocks on the Topix, 600 rose, 966 fell, and 109 were unchanged. Toyota was the biggest drag on the Topix, falling 1.8%.Strong interest poured into AI-themed stocks such as SoftBank Group, Advantest, and Ibiden. Growth expectations also boosted...
Asian stocks moved mixed on Thursday after Wall Street rallied and pushed the S&P 500 to a new record. A decline in US producer price inflation (PPI) bolstered confidence that the Fed could cut interest rates again next week. Early in the session, Australia weakened while Japan fluctuated; US futures continued to edge higher. In the bond market, Treasuries stabilized after Wednesday's rally, while Australian and New Zealand debt strengthened. The dollar index tended to be flat and the yen strengthened against the greenback in early Asian trading—reflecting a "wait-and-see" mode ahead of...
The S&P 500 notched a second straight record-high close on Wednesday, as Oracle surged and cooler-than-expected inflation data supported expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week. Oracle soared in its biggest one-day percentage gain since 1992 after the tech company pointed to a demand surge from AI firms for its cloud services. Its stock market value reached as high as $970 billion, leapfrogging the values of Eli Lilly, JPMorgan Chase and Walmart, and approaching Tesla's $1.1 trillion market value. AI-related chip stocks also rallied, with Nvidia,...
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....