US Stocks plunged on Friday, as investors reacted to a weak July jobs report and a fresh round of tariffs announced by President Trump. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 1.6% and 2.2%, their steepest drops since April, while the Dow lost 542 points. Payrolls rose by just 73,000 in July, far below expectations, with sharp downward revisions to prior months signaling deeper labor market weakness. Treasury yields fell and the odds of a September Fed rate cut rose above 80%. Sentiment worsened after new tariffs of 10% to 41% were imposed on imports from key partners including Canada, India, and...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the US Dollar (USD) against six major currencies, remains stronger for the seventh successive day and is trading around 100.00 during the Asian hours on Friday. The Greenback surged as the US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Price Index report suggested that price pressures would increase in the second half of 2025 and delay the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate cuts until at least October. Traders await the United States (US) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP), due later in the North American session, which is expected to hold in...
Gold prices were muted around $3,290 per ounce on Friday and were on track for its worst weekly performance since late June, pressured by a stronger US dollar following President Trump's introduction of higher tariffs on multiple countries. Trump reaffirmed a 10% global base tariff and imposed retaliatory duties of up to 41% on nations without trade agreements with the US. He also announced a 40% levy on goods suspected of being rerouted through third countries to bypass existing tariffs. Meanwhile, US data showed that both core and headline PCE prices exceeded expectations in June,...
The Australian dollar stabilized around $0.643 on Friday, halting a six-day losing streak as Australia avoided the latest US tariff hikes, with most imports remaining subject to the 10% rate. On Thursday, President Trump issued an executive order revising "reciprocal" tariffs on several countries—raising rates 10–41%—while countries not listed will face an automatic 10% duty and transshipped goods an additional 40%, taking effect seven days after the order. However, Australia avoided steeper tariffs, with its rate held at 10% despite earlier threats of a hike to 15–20%. The White House...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) touches a fresh four-month low against its American counterpart during the Asian session on Friday and seems vulnerable to weaken further. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) revised up its inflation forecasts on Thursday and offered a less gloomy outlook on the economy, keeping hopes alive for the resumption of rate hikes later this year. However, BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda struck a dovish tone and signaled patience in policy normalization, to observe the tariff impact after the US-Japan trade deal. Furthermore, domestic political uncertainty, which has been fueling concerns about...
The Swiss franc underperformed its Group-of-10 peers after President Donald Trump announced a 39% tariff on the nation's products while setting a 10% global minimum rate. USD/CHF rose 0.2% to 0.8135. The latest tariff on Switzerland was higher than the 31% rate Trump initially threatened to impose in April when he unveiled duties on dozens of trading partners The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index inched up 0.1% to the highest level since late May The downside for the Swiss franc may be limited as that greenback tends to weaken whenever Trump raises tariffs and as Switzerland's...