US stocks rebounded from early losses to close mostly higher on Friday amid hopes that Congress members were making progress toward ending the government shutdown. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones closed 0.3% higher, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed near the flatline as AI giants remained under pressure. Senate Republicans rejected Democrats' offer to scale down shutdown demands, but lingering hopes of an incoming agreement improved risk sentiment before the closing bell. The suspension of operations and government data were evidenced by the deteriorating consumer confidence measured by...
Gold fell 1% on Thursday as stronger-than-expected U.S. payrolls data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut interest rates as quickly as previously anticipated, denting the metal's appeal. Spot gold fell 1% to $3,323.49 an ounce by 11:02 a.m. EDT (1502 GMT), while U.S. gold futures fell 0.8% to $3,333. The dollar (.DXY), opens a new tab and U.S. stock index futures rose after nonfarm payrolls increased by 147,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising by 110,000. A...
Oil prices fell slightly on Thursday as the possibility of renewed U.S. tariffs raised questions about demand ahead of expected supply increases by major producers. Brent crude futures fell 63 cents, or 0.91%, to settle at $68.48 a barrel by 11:12 a.m. EDT (1512 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 77 cents, or 1.14%, to settle at $66.68. Both contracts hit one-week highs on Wednesday as Iran, a major oil producer, suspended cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, raising concerns that a lingering dispute over its nuclear program could escalate into armed conflict. A...
The campaign period for the July 20 election for the upper chamber of Japan's parliament kicked off earlier Thursday, and Bank of America Securities stated that the Japanese currency has not yet priced in election risk. At 08:00 ET (12:00 GMT), USD/JPY traded 0.1% higher to ¥143.84, but the pair is approximately 8.5% lower so far this year. "We have argued that the risk from Japan's Upper House election to be held on July 20 is skewed to a weaker yen with a rise in volatility in the case of a loss by the ruling coalition party," said analysts at Bank of America Securities, in a note dated...
The Pound Sterling remained steady against the Greenback on Thursday after a solid Nonfarm Payrolls report in the United States (US) cemented the case that the Federal Reserve would hold rates at the July meeting, as the Unemployment Rate ticked lower. At the time of writing, the GBP/USD trades at 1.3634, virtually unchanged. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the US economy added 149,000 people to the workforce, exceeding estimates of 110,000 and May's 144,000 print. The Unemployment Rate came at 4.1% down from 4.2%. The data fortifies the Fed Chair Jerome Powell's...
The dollar index climbed above 97.3 after a stronger-than-expected June jobs report helped ease concerns over the health of the US labor market, despite lingering uncertainty surrounding trade policy. The US economy added 147,000 jobs in June, up from 144,000 in May and well above market forecasts of 110,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped to 4.1%, defying expectations of a rise to 4.3%. Average hourly earnings increased by 0.2%, slightly below the projected 0.3%. Source: Trading Economi