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...
The Pound is accelerating its uptrend on Tuesday, unaffected by rather downbeat UK manufacturing PMI data. US Dollar weakness is driving markets today with tariff uncertainty, renewed concerns about the US fiscal health, and rising bets on Fed cuts crushing demand for the US Dollar. UK manufacturing activity has remained steady at 47.7 in June, but new orders, employmen,t and output declined from the previous month and pointing to further contraction in the coming months. US debt, hopes of Fed cuts are hammering the USDThese figures, however, have failed to curb Sterling's rally. The...
Oil prices were steady on Tuesday as investors assessed expectations that OPEC+ will announce an output hike for August at an upcoming meeting as well as trade negotiations. Brent crude was up 5 cents to $66.79 a barrel at 0901 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 4 cents to $65.15 a barrel. The market's main focus is the 411,000-barrel-per-day production hike that OPEC+ is expected to announce for August in a meeting on July 6, said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen, adding that this was partially offset by potential trade deals improving the demand outlook. "The market is now...
The US Dollar Index (DXY) fell sharply below the 96.00 level on Tuesday, recording a decline for seven consecutive days and hitting its lowest level in 3.5 years. This weakening occurred after Eurozone economic data showed positive results, especially from the manufacturing sector and inflation, which immediately boosted the Euro against the Dollar. The US Dollar is currently burdened by a combination of factors: fiscal uncertainty due to Trump's controversial Tax Bill, new trade tensions with Japan, and expectations that the Fed will soon cut interest rates. Market concerns increased after...
The Swiss Franc is one of the strongest G8 performers, amid higher demand for safe havens as risk aversion increased during Tuesday's European market session. The USD/CHF, as a result, has extended its decline to fresh 14-year lows at the 0.7900 area. US President Trump's comments highlighting the challenges to cut a trade deal with Japan and Treasury Secretary Bessent's threats of higher tariffs from July 9 have crushed risk appetite on Tuesday. In the US, the uncertainty about Trump's sweeping Tax bill, which is expected to add another $3.3 trillion to an already high US debt load, is...
Gold price (XAU/USD) builds on the previous day's goodish recovery from the $3,248-3,247 region or a one-month trough and gains positive traction for the second successive day on Tuesday. The momentum remains uninterrupted through the early part of the European session and lifts the bullion to a multi-day peak, around the $3,340 area in the last hour. The US Dollar (USD) remains depressed on the back of the growing acceptance that the Federal Reserve (Fed) would resume its rate-cutting cycle in the near future. Adding to this, concerns about the worsening US fiscal conditions drag the USD...