US stocks closed higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 up 0.8%, and the Nasdaq climbing nearly 1%, while the Dow gaining 206 points. Technology shares, led by Apple which surged 4.2% following its announcement of a $600 billion US investment plan helped lift the tech-heavy Nasdaq to new intraday highs. Investor optimism was also fueled by expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts, with President Trump nominating Stephen Miran to the Fed Board, signaling possible shifts in monetary policy, despite concerns over new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on imports from multiple...
Oil prices settled lower on Thursday on expectations for a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal that could result in sanctions being eased and more barrels released onto the global market. Brent crude futures settled down $1.56, or 2.36%, to $64.53 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled down $1.53, or 2.42%, to $61.62. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the U.S. was getting close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran had "sort of" agreed to the terms. An Iranian official told NBC News in an interview published on Wednesday that Iran was willing to agree...
Gold price rallied sharply on Thursday after hitting a weekly low of $3,120, posting solid gains of over 1.40%, boosted by broad US Dollar weakness due to a nifty Producer Price Index (PPI) report in the United States (US). This, along with falling US bond yields, keeps XAU/USD trading at $3,228 at the time of writing. The yellow metal began to rise in anticipation of US PPI data, which in April came surprisingly below estimates and March's data. At the same time, Retail Sales for the same period slowed as households front-loaded motor vehicle purchases, and job data revealed by the US...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Oil remains under pressure on Thursday, trading near $61.20 during the American session after declining for a second straight day. The commodity briefly fell over 3% earlier in the day before finding near-term support at the $60.00 psychological level. The latest leg down is driven by a combination of bearish supply-side fundamentals and technical rejection near key resistance. Renewed optimism surrounding a potential US-Iran nuclear agreement has revived expectations of increased Iranian oil hitting global markets, should sanctions be eased. This has triggered...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback against a basket of major currencies, is trading just under 101.00 on Thursday after key US economic data releases offered little upside momentum. Retail Sales rose a modest 0.1% in April, while the Producer Price Index softened to 2.4% annually, below expectations. Weekly jobless claims held steady at 229K. Speaking at the Thomas Laubach Research Conference, Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the need to revisit the Fed's strategic language around inflation and employment. The market reaction was muted, with traders...
Oil prices slipped on Thursday on expectations for a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal that could result in sanctions being eased and more barrels released onto the global market. Brent crude futures were down $1.96, or 2.97%, to $64.13 a barrel at 11:17 a.m. EDT (1517 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $1.96, or 3.1%, at $61.19. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the U.S. was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran had "sort of" agreed to the terms. An Iranian official told NBC News in an interview published on Wednesday that Iran...