European stocks closed sharply higher for a second session on Thursday with continued support from its main sectors as amid optimism that tariffs from the United States will remain below the levels that were previously threatened. The STOXX 50 gained 0.9% to 5,437 and the STOXX 600 added 0.5% to 553. The EU Commission noted it is likely to finalize parts of the trade agreements with the US, holding tariffs on most goods at 15% instead of the steeper threats by US President Trump. Allianz gained over 2%, tracking the strong performances for insurers and reinsurers after Swiss Re delivered...
Gold (XAU/USD) prices turned positive after an intraday dip to $3,275-3,274 region as geopolitical risks emanating from the Russia-Ukraine war, rising tensions in the Middle East, and the India-Pakistan border revived safe-haven demand. Additionally, a modest US Dollar (USD) pullback from near one-month highs touched on Friday turned out to be another factor that acted as a tailwind for the commodity. With the intraday move higher, the XAU/USD pair, for now, seems to have snapped two consecutive days of losing streak, though its upside potential seems limited. The optimism led by the US-UK...
Oil prices rose on Friday, after rising about 3% in the previous session, as trade tensions between top oil consumers the U.S. and China showed signs of easing and Britain announced a "breakthrough" trade deal with the United States. Brent crude rose 43 cents, or 0.68%, to $63.27 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 42 cents, or 0.7%, to $60.33 a barrel by 0731 GMT. Both contracts closed up nearly 3% on Thursday. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet China's top economic official, Vice Premier He Lifeng, in Switzerland on May 10 to try to resolve a trade dispute...
The dollar headed for a weekly gain on most major peers on Friday as a U.S.-UK trade deal raised hopes of progress in looming U.S.-China talks, while bets of imminent Fed rate cuts receded after the central bank indicated it was in no hurry. Financial markets are heading into the weekend with the focus squarely on trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing due to begin on Saturday in Switzerland. The euro touched a one-month low of $1.1197 in Asia and was down about 0.6% for the week. The yen has weakened about 0.4% this week and hit a one-month trough of 146.18 per dollar, before...
The EUR/USD pair pared daily losses and traded around 1.1230 during the Asian session on Friday (09/05). The pair depreciated as the US dollar (USD) found support from upbeat US economic data and signs of easing trade tensions. US President Donald Trump announced a "major" trade deal with the United Kingdom (UK), although the headline tariffs remain at 10%, which has dampened market optimism. Attention now turns to initial US-China trade talks set for later this week in Switzerland, but both sides have downplayed expectations of a breakthrough. Trump continues to take a hardline stance on...
Government data released Friday showed that Japanese household spending rose 0.4% in March and 2.1% from a year earlier, both beating market expectations. Moreover, expectations that continued wage gains will boost consumer spending and inflation in Japan suggest that the Bank of Japan may not back off its interest rate hike plans altogether. In fact, minutes of the BoJ's monetary policy meeting held on March 18-19 revealed on Thursday that the central bank remains ready to raise interest rates further if inflation trends persist. This, in turn, bolstered the case for further policy...