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...
Oil slipped on Monday, weighed down by Moody's downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating and official data that showed slowing growth in China's industrial output and retail sales. Both developments raised concerns over the outlook for the world's two biggest economies and oil consumers a week after Beijing and Washington's agreement to roll back most tariffs on each other's goods pushed oil prices higher. "The timing is damaging," John Evans of oil broker PVM said of the U.S. rating cut. "The change may see limited impact and its effect might be a creep of monetary disease rather than...
Gold prices climbed on Monday as a softer dollar and renewed trade concerns, following U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's reaffirmation of President Donald Trump's tariff threats, fuelled safe-haven demand. Spot gold was up 0.8% at $3,228.47 an ounce, as of 0632 GMT. U.S. gold futures gained 1.4% to $3,232.10. Gold shed more than 2% on Friday and posted its worst week since last November, as increased risk appetite from the U.S.-China trade agreement weighed. The dollar (.DXY), opens new tab slipped 0.5% on Monday, making greenback-priced gold cheaper for overseas currency...
The US dollar index fell slightly to around 100.7 on Monday, following a surprise downgrade of the US government's credit rating. Moody's Ratings announced late Friday that it had stripped the US of its top credit rating, lowering it to Aa1, due to concerns about the nation's growing $36 trillion debt, in a move that could complicate President Trump's efforts to cut taxes. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed the cut's significance on Sunday, saying the administration would spur economic growth that would outpace the national debt. He also warned trade partners that they would face the...
The GBP/USD pair recovered from prior session losses, trading near the 1.3300 level during Asian session on Monday. The rebound is largely driven by renewed pressure on the US Dollar (USD) after Moody's Investors Service downgraded the US credit rating by one notch, from Aaa to Aa1. The agency cited escalating debt levels and a growing burden from interest payments as primary concerns. This move aligns with previous downgrades by Fitch Ratings in 2023 and Standard & Poor's in 2011. Moody's now forecasts US federal debt to rise to approximately 134% of GDP by 2035, up from 98% in 2023....
Oil prices ticked lower in Asian trading on Monday after weekly gains, as oversupply concerns persisted amid U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, while investors assessed Chinese factory data showing resilience despite the effect of U.S. tariffs. Investors were also cautious as the global ratings agency Moody's downgraded its investment grade rating on the U.S. As of 23:23 ET (03:23 GMT), Brent Oil Futures expiring in June inched 0.3% lower to $65.20 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also fell 0.3% to $61.77 per barrel. Both contracts gained more than 1% last week, driven...