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...
The Nikkei 225 fell 2% to below 40,000 and the broader Topix index fell 1.8% to 2,895 on Monday (August 4), with both indexes hitting near two-week lows as Japanese stocks followed Wall Street's sharp decline. The sell-off followed US President Donald Trump's massive retaliatory tariffs of 10% to 41% on several trading partners, alongside a weaker-than-expected US jobs report that deepened economic concerns. Domestically, investors awaited the minutes of the Bank of Japan's latest policy meeting for clues on the timing of its next interest rate hike. Technology stocks led the decline, with...
US Stocks plunged on Friday, as investors reacted to a weak July jobs report and a fresh round of tariffs announced by President Trump. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 1.6% and 2.2%, their steepest drops since April, while the Dow lost 542 points. Payrolls rose by just 73,000 in July, far below expectations, with sharp downward revisions to prior months signaling deeper labor market weakness. Treasury yields fell and the odds of a September Fed rate cut rose above 80%. Sentiment worsened after new tariffs of 10% to 41% were imposed on imports from key partners including Canada, India, and...
The European stock markets closed sharply lower in Friday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.8%, Germany's DAX dropped 2.5%, the FTSE 100 was down 0.7%, France's CAC decreased 2.9%, and the Swiss Market Index declined 0.8%. The annual inflation rate in the euro area was an estimated 2.0% in July, which is unchanged from June, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the EU's statistical office. Analysts had been expecting 1.9%, according to Bloomberg. Eurostat said food, alcohol, and tobacco are expected to have the highest annual rate in July at 3.3%, compared with 3.1% in...
US stocks opened sharply lower in August, with all three major indexes falling more than 1%, as a weaker-than-expected jobs report fueled renewed concerns about the strength of the US labor market and the overall economy. Non-farm payrolls rose by just 73,000 in July, and employment figures for May and June were revised down by 258,000, adding to evidence that the labor market is slowing more rapidly than anticipated. The weaker data fueled expectations that the Fed would cut interest rates twice this year, with another cut likely in September. Market pressure intensified when President...
The Hang Seng Index plunged 265 points, or 1.1%, to close at 24,508 on Friday (August 1), weakening for a fourth session and hitting a two-week low. Risk sentiment weakened after the US imposed high tariffs on dozens of trading partners, while US futures prices fell sharply after higher June inflation data. The new tariffs are expected to add to price pressures, fueling concerns about further inflation. Traders are also cautious ahead of US employment data due later today. For the week, the index fell 3.5%, its first weekly decline in four weeks, amid concerns about slowing Chinese...
The STOXX 50 dropped 1.1% and the STOXX 600 declined 0.8% on the first trading day of August, which coincided with the deadline for countries to reach a trade deal with the US. In response, President Trump announced a series of sweeping tariffs. While the baseline rate remained unchanged at 10%—matching duties imposed in April—tariffs on certain countries were significantly increased, including India (25%), Canada (35%), and Switzerland (39%). Overall, the average US tariff rate will rise to 15%, up from around 2% in 2024. Pharmaceutical stocks also came under pressure after President Trump...
The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.66% to close at 40,800 on Friday, bringing its weekly loss to 1.58%, as tech stocks came under heavy pressure. Tokyo Electron sank 18% after slashing its full-year profit outlook due to weak demand from logic chipmakers. Losses spread across the sector, with Lasertec (-5.8%), Hitachi (-8.8%), Socionext (-4.1%), Disco (-3.6%), and Advantest (-1.3%) all declining. Sentiment was further dented by renewed trade tensions after US President Donald Trump reaffirmed a 10% global tariff and imposed reciprocal duties of up to 41% on countries without trade deals, heightening...
(Hong Kong) The Hang Seng Index started the month of August by opening 28 points lower, marking a decrease of 0.12% at 24,744 points. The H-share index dropped by 12 points or 0.14%, reaching 8,870 points, while the technology index saw a decline of 5 points or 0.09%, standing at 5,447 points. In the tech sector, stock movements varied with Alibaba rising by 1.82%, Kuaishou up by 1.3%, and Tencent seeing a 0.27% increase. Conversely, Meituan fell by 0.41%, Xiaomi Group by 0.66%, and Trip.com Group by 1.42%. Financial stocks exhibited weakness, with HSBC Holdings dropping by 0.68%; AIA...
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....