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 is retreating on Thursday despite persistent US Dollar (USD) weakness as traders continue to favour risk assets. With XAU/USD trading near $3,330 in the American session at the time of writing, the yellow metal continues to display signs of resiliency despite a minor pullback. The risk-on tone being adopted by global markets has continued to ripple through markets as US equity indices continue their ascent to fresh, record highs. This has limited Gold's ability to extend gains, despite a weaker Greenback. With the timing of Fed rate cuts still in question, recent data and US...
The dollar sank to a three-year low while world stocks notched their second record high in three days as a report that Donald Trump was planning to choose the next Federal Reserve chief early fuelled fresh bets on U.S. rate cuts. Dollar selling was ongoing as U.S. trading picked up pace after the Wall Street Journal said the U.S. president - who has been urging the Fed to cut rates faster - was toying with the idea of selecting Chair Jerome Powell's replacement in the next few months ahead of his formal departure next May. It left the greenback (.DXY), opens new tab down nearly 0.5% on...
Gold is regaining confidence on Thursday as the poor performance of the US Dollar (USD) becomes the dominant driver of price action. With XAU/USD trading near $3,340 in the European session at the time of writing, the yellow metal continues to display signs of resiliency. Despite a risk-on tone being adopted by global markets, declines in the Gold price have been limited. This is largely attributed to a decrease in confidence in the Greenback, which has come under scrutiny in recent months. Investors' focus has now shifted to the timing of when the Fed will begin to cut interest rates,...
Oil prices rose Thursday as a bumper draw in U.S. oil inventories turned attention onto fundamentals given signs that the Israel-Iran ceasefire was holding. At 08:15 ET (12:15 GMT), Brent oil futures rose 0.7% to $66.89 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.7% to $65.39 a barrel. Both benchmarks climbed nearly 1% on Wednesday, recovering from losses earlier in the week after data showed resilient U.S. demand. U.S. inventories log outsized draw for second week Government data, released on Wednesday, showed that U.S. oil inventories shrank 5.8 million barrels...
Oil prices edged higher on Thursday as investors remained cautious about the Iran-Israel ceasefire and shifted their attention to market fundamentals after a stockdraw in the United States. Brent crude futures rose 34 cents, or 0.5%, to $68.02 a barrel by 1055 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $65.27 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 are trading below their close of $69.36 on June 12, the day before Israel started air strikes on...