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...
The U.S. dollar slips lower Wednesday adding to the previous session's sharp losses, as a cooler-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation release bolstered the case for further interest rate cuts. At 04:00 ET (08:00 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, fell 0.3% to 100.560, following a 0.8% slide on Tuesday. Dollar steadies after hefty drop U.S. consumer price index inflation was weaker than expected last month, according to data released Tuesday, alleviating some fears about the impact of the Trump trade tariffs. This hit the dollar...
Oil prices fell on Wednesday as traders eyed a potential surge in U.S. crude inventories, although prices held near two-week highs amid optimism after the United States and China agreed to temporarily lower their tit-for-tat tariffs. Brent crude futures fell 39 cents, or 0.6%, to $66.24 a barrel by 0400 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 36 cents, or 0.6%, to $63.31. Both benchmarks had risen more than 2.5% in the previous session. The world's two largest economies agreed on Monday to pause their trade war for at least 90 days, with the United States cutting tariffs...
Gold fell on Wednesday as a de-escalation in US-China trade tensions dampened safe-haven demand, while markets eyed another batch of inflation data to gauge the Federal Reserve's policy path. Spot gold was down 0.7% at $3,226.11 an ounce, as of 0430 GMT. US gold futures were down 0.6% at $3,229.50. "The positive developments in US trade policy (are) dampening the appeal of gold in the short term," said Kyle Rodda, financial markets analyst at Capital.com. "I think if we see continued progress in trade negotiations and deals being done between the US and its trading partners, gold could...
Silver (XAG/USD) extended its previous day's retracement slide from the $33.20-$33.25 resistance zone and triggered some follow-through selling during the Asian session on Wednesday (5/14). The white metal dropped to a fresh intraday low, around the $31.60 area in the last hour, although the mixed technical setup warrants caution before positioning for deeper losses. Against the backdrop of a decent recovery from the $28.45 area, or the YTD trough touched in April, the recent price action along a three-week-old descending channel constitutes the formation of a bullish flag pattern. However,...
GBP/USD traded around 1.3300 during the Asian session on Wednesday (5/14), steadying after posting more than 1% gains in the previous session. However, the pair's gains may be limited as the British Pound (GBP) faces headwinds from declining employment and slowing wage growth in the UK, factors that could strengthen expectations for further interest rate cuts by the Bank of England (BoE). This week, market participants are bracing for increased volatility in the Pound Sterling, with the release of the UK's preliminary Q1 GDP and Industrial and Manufacturing Production data on Thursday. The...