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 is trading practically flat, halfway through the 1.1500 range on Tuesday. Waning hopes of a truce in the Middle East have dampened risk appetite, but market volatility remains contained so far as investors await a slew of monetary policy decisions, including the Federal Reserve's (Fed) later this week. Israel and Iran have continued exchanging fire for the fifth day, and US President Donald Trump has urged citizens to evacuate Tehran, before leaving the G7 summit one day earlier to meet with the National Security Council. Concerns that the US might get involved in the...
The USD/CHF pair weakened to around 0.8135 during the early European session on Tuesday (6/17). Persistent geopolitical risks in the Middle East provided some support to the Swiss Franc (CHF) against the US Dollar (USD). Traders are gearing up for the US Retail Sales data for May, due later on Tuesday. The conflict between Israel and Iran has entered its fifth day despite global calls for negotiations and de-escalation. Late on Monday, US President Donald Trump called for the evacuation of the Iranian capital, Tehran, hours after urging the country's leaders to accept a deal to curb its...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) recovered its daily losses against the US Dollar (USD) on Tuesday (6/17). However, the AUD/USD pair faced challenges as traders remained cautious amid ongoing geopolitical tensions. However, the risk-sensitive AUD/USD pair gained on optimism after Iran reportedly asked multiple countries, including Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, to urge US President Donald Trump to use his influence with Israel for an immediate ceasefire, according to Reuters. Additionally, risk sentiment improved as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed with Trump that their countries...
Oil prices rose on Tuesday amid concerns that the Iran-Israel conflict could escalate, raising the risk of further unrest and potential disruptions to oil supplies from the key Middle East producing region. Brent crude futures rose 34 cents, or 0.5%, to $73.57 a barrel by 0340 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 29 cents, or 0.4%, to $72.06. Both contracts rose more than 2% earlier in the session. Oil prices fell more than 1% on Monday amid hopes that the conflict would ease after media reports that Iran was seeking to end hostilities. However, concerns grew after U.S....
Gold rose on Tuesday as rising geopolitical uncertainty stemming from the Israel-Iran row and U.S. President Donald Trump's call to evacuate Tehran prompted investors to seek safe-haven assets. Spot gold was up 0.4% at $3,396.67 an ounce, by 0239 GMT, after falling more than 1% on Monday. U.S. gold futures were steady at $3,416.30. "Market sentiment continues to fluctuate between escalation and de-escalation regarding events in the Middle East, and it is this shift in sentiment back and forth that is driving gold prices either side of the $3,400 level," said Tim Waterer, chief market...