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...
Oil prices fell on Thursday as investors hesitated to take new positions after US President Donald Trump gave mixed signals about the country's potential involvement in the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict. Brent crude futures fell 37 cents, or 0.48%, to $76.33 a barrel by 0110 GMT after rising 0.3% in the previous session marked by high volatility, when prices fell as much as 2.7%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for July fell 28 cents, or 0.37%, to $74.86 a barrel, after rising 0.4% the previous day despite falling as much as 2.4%. The July contract expires on Friday and the more active...
USD/CHF rallied for the fourth straight day after the Federal Reserve (Fed) decided to keep interest rates on hold, although they are still eyeing two rate cuts by 2025. This, coupled with US President Trump's statement that he is open to Iran talks, boosted the dollar. At the time of writing, the pair was trading at 0.8180, up 0.08%. USD/CHF Price Forecast: Technical outlook The price action suggests that the USD/CHF downtrend is still in play, although since June 13, it seems to be consolidating in the 0.8038-0.8350 range in the near term. This is because the Relative Strength Index...
Gold edges higher in the early Asian session amid ongoing geopolitical tensions. Israel's military said it struck more than 20 military targets in and around Tehran, including sites tied to Iran's nuclear weapons development and missile production. President Trump said that he wasn't looking for a ceasefire in Israel-Iran conflict and that he doesn't want Iran to have nuclear weapons. "Persistent geopolitical tensions continue to underpin safe-haven demand," DHF Capital's Bas Kooijman says in an email. There are growing worries that the U.S. could become directly involved, the CEO and asset...
Gold prices show minimal gains as the Asian session begins, following the Fed's decision to maintain rates, while indicating they are still considering two rate cuts. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump's comments on Iran triggered a pullback towards a weekly low of $3,362, before settling at around current levels. The XAU/USD trades at $3,375, up 0.19%. On Wednesday, the Fed maintained rates as expected and updated its economic projections for the United States (US). The medians suggest that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would be lower than the March forecasts, while the unemployment rate...
GBP/USD spun a circle on Wednesday, rising and falling through the Federal Reserve's (Fed) latest rate hold. Cable is caught in intraday consolidation near the 1.3400 handle, as Pound Sterling traders gear up for the Bank of England's (BoE) own interest rate decision, due early Thursday. The Federal Reserve (Fed) hit the mark on Wednesday and kept interest rates on hold, as most investors expected. Traders are still pricing in around 50 basis points in interest rate cuts through the end of 2025, and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) generally seems to agree with that assessment....