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 Australian dollar rose to around 0.646 on Monday, supported by a weakening greenback amid investor concerns over US President Donald Trump's tariff measures. On Friday, Trump announced plans to double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from 25% to 50% effective June 4. The announcement, along with escalating US–China trade tensions, deepened investor anxiety over slowing growth and mounting inflationary pressures. In Australia, data showed the manufacturing sector weakened for the second consecutive month in May, falling to its lowest level since February a sign of slowing...
The euro (EUR) held steady against the US dollar (USD) on Friday (5/30) after a weaker-than-expected US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, which is close to the Federal Reserve's (Fed) 2% target, lifted the pair from an intraday low of 1.1312. EUR/USD was trading at 1.1361, barely changed on the day. The market mood remains fragile, shifting between optimism and pessimism, with US equities weighed on tariffs and trade news. The US Court of International Trade ruled that the tariffs were illegal and ordered Washington to lift them within ten days. However, the Trump...
U.S. crude futures fell on Friday as traders expected OPEC+ to decide on Saturday to increase oil output for July beyond previous estimates. Brent crude futures settled down 25 cents, or 0.39%, at $63.90 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled down 15 cents, or 0.25%, at $60.79 a barrel, after earlier dropping more than $1 a barrel. Brent July futures expire on Friday. The more liquid August contract fell 71 cents, or 1.12%, to $62.64 a barrel. At that level, the benchmark front-month contract was headed for a weekly loss of more than 1%. Prices dipped into negative territory...
Gold prices fell on Friday as the dollar strengthened and markets digested the latest tariff developments, while a softer inflation report kept hopes of a U.S. interest rate cut alive. Spot gold fell 0.7%, to $3,293.59 an ounce, by 2:26 p.m. ET (1826 GMT) and is down 1.9% so far this week. U.S. gold futures settled 0.9% lower at $3,315.40. The dollar index rose 0.1%, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies. A federal appeals court temporarily reinstated President Donald Trump's most sweeping tariffs on Thursday, a day after a U.S. trade court ruled that Trump had...
Gold fell and the dollar strengthened as traders assessed U.S. data on consumer spending, import flows and fresh trade tensions between the U.S. and China. Consumers stepped back in April while imports plunged sharply as companies adjusted to higher tariffs. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve's preferred price gauge remained tame, reinforcing bets that the U.S. central bank won't need to lower borrowing costs until later this year. That scenario would be negative for bullion as it typically benefits from lower interest rates. On the trade front, U.S. President Donald Trump said China was not...