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) started the new week on a weaker note, dropping to its lowest level since May 15 against the broadly stronger US Dollar (USD) during the Asian session. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) last week signaled its preference to move cautiously in normalizing its still-loose monetary policy, forcing investors to scale back their expectations about the likely timing of the next interest rate hike. In addition, concerns that the US tariffs of 25% on Japanese vehicles and a reciprocal levies of 24% on other imports will impact the Japanese economy turned out to be another factor that...
The GBP/USD pair extended losses to around 1.3405 during Asian trading hours on Monday (6/23). Concerns that Iran will retaliate against the US attack on its nuclear sites boosted safe-haven flows, supporting the US Dollar (USD). Investors await preliminary readings of the Purchasing Managers' Indexes (PMIs) for June from the UK and the US, due on Monday. The United States carried out airstrikes on three nuclear sites in Iran early Sunday despite US President Donald Trump's long-standing vows to avoid a new foreign conflict, according to Bloomberg. Trump said Iran's main nuclear enrichment...
The EUR/USD pair weakened to around 1.1480 during the early Asian session on Monday (6/23). The greenback moved higher against the Euro (EUR) as US President Donald Trump's decision to join Israel's war against Iran sharply escalated the conflict. Traders will be closely monitoring developments surrounding the Middle East conflict. The United States (US) waded into the conflict between Israel and Iran over the weekend, with American warplanes and submarines targeting three Iranian facilities in Iran, Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan. Trump said Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility had been...
Oil prices jumped on Monday to their highest since January as Washington's weekend move to join Israel in striking Iran's nuclear facilities stoked supply concerns. Brent crude futures were up $1.88, or 2.44%, at $78.89 a barrel by 1122 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.87, or 2.53%, at $75.71. Both contracts jumped more than 3% earlier in the session to $81.40 and $78.40, respectively, their highest in five months, before giving up some of the gains. The price surge came after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had "destroyed" Iran's main nuclear site in an attack over...
The dollar gained in early trading as investors sought to hedge against rising geopolitical risks following the U.S. attack on Iran. The U.S. currency gained slightly against the euro and most other major currencies as markets began the week in Asia. Crude oil futures rose and U.S. equity contracts fell as the bombings stoked demand for security and concerns about energy supplies. Government bonds edged higher. "We expect some risk relief, but not aggressively," said Diego Fernandez, chief investment officer at A&G Banco in Madrid. "The world may be a safer place without the Iranian...