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 EUR/USD pair has bounced up from weekly lows at 1.1445 on Thursday and is trading at 1.1475, practically flat on the day, at the moment of writing. Fears of an escalation of the Israel-Iran war into a regional conflict are dampening risk appetite and weighing on the Euro in favor of safe assets such as the US Dollar. US President Donald Trump stole the Federal Reserve's (Fed) spotlight on Wednesday, leaving the world guessing whether the US may join Israel in its attack on Iran, and a report from Bloomberg, released somewhat later, suggested that US officials might be preparing to enter...
The dollar rose on Thursday, boosted by safe-haven demand amid the threat of a wider conflict in the Middle East and possible U.S. involvement, while investors weighed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's warning tone on inflation. After a quiet start in Asian hours, the dollar strengthened across the board, weighing on risk-sensitive currencies after a report said U.S. officials were preparing for a possible attack on Iran in the coming days. The Australian dollar fell as much as 0.5% but was last down 0.3% at $0.6489, while the New Zealand dollar fell 0.5% to $0.5998. Emerging-market...
Gold prices rose on Thursday as the Iran-Israel conflict dragged on for a seventh day, boosting demand for the safe-haven asset, although the US Federal Reserve's cautious stance on future interest rate cuts kept gains in check. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $3,374.54 an ounce, by 0505 GMT. US gold futures were down 0.5% at $3,391.90. "Gold has been gaining a bit as we wait for the next move in the Israel-Iran conflict. If the US decides to get directly involved in the conflict, that could raise the geopolitical stakes," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade. Geopolitical...
Silver (XAG/USD) oscillated in a narrow range around the $36.75 area during the Asian session on Thursday (June 19) and for now, seems to have stalled the previous day's modest decline from its highest level since February 2012. Meanwhile, the technical setup favors bullish traders and suggests that the path of least resistance for the white metal is to the upside. A sustained strength beyond the $36.45-$36.50 mark confirms a breakout through a short-term descending trend channel, which constitutes the formation of a bullish flag pattern. Moreover, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) reversed modest Asian session gains against the broadly stronger USD and remained near monthly lows retested earlier this week. The Bank of Japan's (BOJ) cautious approach to winding down its decade-long monetary stimulus forced investors to push back their expectations about the likely timing of the next interest rate hike to Q1 2026. Additionally, concerns about the potential economic impact of the US's 25% tariffs on Japanese vehicles and a reciprocal 24% levy on other imports turned out to be key factors undermining the JPY. The USD, on the other hand, rose to...