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 Japanese Yen (JPY) weakened across the board during the Asian session on Friday (6/27) in reaction to data showing that consumer inflation in Tokyo slowed sharply in June. Moreover, Japanese Retail Sales posted growth for the 38th straight month, albeit at the slowest pace since February. This came on top of expectations that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) could delay an interest rate hike until Q1 2026, which, along with upbeat market sentiment, turned out to be the main factors weakening the safe-haven JPY. Moreover, uncertainty over the impact of US tariffs on the Japanese economy turned...
Oil prices edged up in early Asia amid positive sentiment driven by overnight gains on Wall Street. However, "supply tensions should again surpass their summer seasonal strength as under the surface, several bearish factors are gearing up for the end of the third quarter," Francesco Martoccia of Citi Research said in a research report. These factors include global refinery production set to fall by more than 1.5 million barrels per day between August and September, the analyst said. Front-month WTI crude futures were up 0.2% at $65.37/bbl; front-month Brent crude futures were up 0.2% at...
Gold fell slightly in early Asian trade, weighed by stronger-than-expected US data that could dampen hopes for a Fed rate cut. The number of people filing for unemployment benefits fell to a five-week low last week and durable goods orders posted their biggest increase in 11 years. The focus will likely be on the PCE inflation report due later in the day. Market participants are now looking to upcoming data for further direction, Exness' Krisada Yoonaisil said in an email. Meanwhile, concerns over the Fed's independence could fuel safe-haven demand, the financial market strategist added....
Gold price retreats on Thursday during the North American session, failing to gain traction amid a session characterized by a weak US Dollar, which is testing levels last seen in February 2022. The XAU/USD trades at $3,331 and prints modest losses of 0.05%. The yellow metal is struggling to rally despite the Greenback being near three-and-a-half-year lows and US Treasury yields plunging. Solid economic data in the United States (US) kept bullion from advancing, even though market participants got slightly ahead of themselves, pricing in two rate cuts toward the end of 2025. US jobs data...
Oil prices edged higher on Thursday with investors focused on market fundamentals as crude and fuel inventories fell in the U.S. and the dollar sank to a multi-year low, while the market remained cautious about the Iran-Israel ceasefire. Brent crude futures were up 32 cents, or 0.47%, to $68 a barrel at 2:01 p.m. EDT (1801 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 55 cents, or 0.85%, to $65.47 a barrel. Both benchmarks climbed nearly 1% on Wednesday, recovering from losses earlier in the week after data showed resilient U.S. demand. Brent futures were trading below their close of...