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 rallied after its biggest weekly drop in six months, with safe-haven demand boosted by growing concerns about the US economic outlook and budget deficit. Bullion rose as much as 1.3% to around $3,245 an ounce in early Asian trade. That came after Moody's Ratings announced late Friday that it had downgraded the US government's main credit rating to Aa1 from Aaa. The agency blamed the inability of successive administrations to cut budget deficits. "While we acknowledge the significant strength of the US economy and finances, we believe this no longer fully offsets the deterioration in...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is trading around $62 on Friday ahead of the weekend, staging a modest rebound after snapping a two-day losing streak. The US Oil found renewed buying interest following a retest of the $55 support zone, where a potential double-bottom structure has formed on the daily chart. While the short-term technical picture has improved, macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds, especially surrounding rising Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) output and the potential return of Iranian barrels, continue to weigh on sentiment. OPEC+ supply...
The dollar rose on Friday after the latest round of economic data showed a jump in import prices while consumer sentiment remained subdued, putting it on pace for a fourth straight weekly advance. The Labor Department said import prices gained 0.1% last month after dropping 0.4% in March as a jump in the cost of capital goods outweighed cheaper energy prices. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices, which exclude tariffs, would decrease 0.4%. The dollar began to strengthen after a separate reading from the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers showed its Consumer...
Gold (XAU/USD) continues to decline on Friday, falling toward $3,180 and marking a sharp weekly loss of over 4%, its biggest since November 2024. The precious metal has now shed over $300 from its record high of $3,500 set in April, as safe-haven demand weakens and technical selling accelerates. Risk sentiment improved this week after the United States (US) and China agreed to reduce tariffs for 90 days, while geopolitical tensions remained muted with India-Pakistan and Middle East risks stabilizing. After a period of conflicting reports and diplomatic deadlock, Ukrainian and Russian...
Oil prices edged up on Friday, heading for a second consecutive weekly gain on easing U.S.-China trade tensions, although the optimism was somewhat offset by higher supply expectations from Iran and OPEC+. Brent crude futures were up 29 cents, or 0.5%, at $64.82 per barrel at 1054 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0.4%, to $61.89. Both contracts fell more than 2% in the previous session on the prospect of an Iranian nuclear deal, which could result in more barrels being released onto the global market. "The enthusiasm resulting from progress in...