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...
Gold price (XAU/USD) prolongs the uptrend for the fourth consecutive day and climbs to a nearly two-week high, around the $3,344-3,345 area during the Asian session on Thursday. Investors remain on edge following the US sovereign credit rating downgrade by Moody's and growing worries about rising US deficit on the back of US President Donald Trump's sweeping tax bill. Moreover, renewed US-China trade tensions, along with geopolitical risks, hit the global risk sentiment and continue to benefit the safe-haven precious metal. Meanwhile, a poor response to the 20-year US bond auction...
Oil prices extended losses in Asian trading on Thursday after data showed a surprise build in U.S. crude stockpiles, while uncertainty ahead of renewed U.S.-Iran nuclear talks next week further fueled oversupply worries. In the previous session, oil closed lower after volatile moves, as it initially jumped over 1.5% on a CNN report stating Israel may potentially strike Iran's nuclear sites. As of 20:48 ET (01:55 GMT), Brent Oil Futures expiring in July fell 0.5% to $64.61 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 0.4% to $61.30 per barrel. US-Iran talks to...
The Japanese yen strengthened toward 143 per dollar on Thursday, reaching its highest level in over two weeks, as mounting concerns over the US fiscal outlook weighed on the greenback. The yen's rally was fueled by expectations that President Donald Trump's proposed tax cuts projected to add more than $3 trillion to US debt could destabilize financial markets and undermine confidence in US assets. On the diplomatic front, Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said he did not discuss exchange rate levels with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during the G7 meetings in Canada...
The dollar index fell to around 99.5 on Thursday, marking its fourth straight daily decline, as fiscal concerns weighed on sentiment. Investors are increasingly uneasy over Trump's proposed budget, which includes sweeping tax cuts projected to add between $3 trillion and $5 trillion to the national debt. However, the legislation hit a political snag as several blue-state Republicans warned they would withhold support unless the bill includes a larger deduction for state and local taxes. Further pressure on the dollar came from a lackluster 20-year bond auction, which signaled weakening...
Gold rose toward $3,340 per ounce on Thursday, gaining for a fourth straight session to reach a near two-week high, as investors sought safe-haven assets amid growing concerns over the US fiscal outlook. Risk sentiment weakened following the release of a proposed US federal budget that could further widen the already large deficit, compounded by Moody's recent downgrade of the US credit rating due to rising debt levels and the Fed's cautious outlook on the economy. Geopolitical tensions further amplified gold's appeal, with ongoing unrest in the Middle East and President Trump appearing to...