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...
Silver prices steadied around $32.50 per ounce on Friday, following a volatile week as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of high-stakes US-China trade negotiations scheduled for this weekend in Switzerland. The upcoming talks will see Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent , as both sides seek to ease escalating tariff tensions. The market is closely watching for any signals of de-escalation that could impact the broader commodity landscape. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump announced a preliminary trade deal with the UK—the first since the...
Gold (XAU/USD) prices turned positive after an intraday dip to $3,275-3,274 region as geopolitical risks emanating from the Russia-Ukraine war, rising tensions in the Middle East, and the India-Pakistan border revived safe-haven demand. Additionally, a modest US Dollar (USD) pullback from near one-month highs touched on Friday turned out to be another factor that acted as a tailwind for the commodity. With the intraday move higher, the XAU/USD pair, for now, seems to have snapped two consecutive days of losing streak, though its upside potential seems limited. The optimism led by the US-UK...
Oil prices rose on Friday, after rising about 3% in the previous session, as trade tensions between top oil consumers the U.S. and China showed signs of easing and Britain announced a "breakthrough" trade deal with the United States. Brent crude rose 43 cents, or 0.68%, to $63.27 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 42 cents, or 0.7%, to $60.33 a barrel by 0731 GMT. Both contracts closed up nearly 3% on Thursday. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet China's top economic official, Vice Premier He Lifeng, in Switzerland on May 10 to try to resolve a trade dispute...
The dollar headed for a weekly gain on most major peers on Friday as a U.S.-UK trade deal raised hopes of progress in looming U.S.-China talks, while bets of imminent Fed rate cuts receded after the central bank indicated it was in no hurry. Financial markets are heading into the weekend with the focus squarely on trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing due to begin on Saturday in Switzerland. The euro touched a one-month low of $1.1197 in Asia and was down about 0.6% for the week. The yen has weakened about 0.4% this week and hit a one-month trough of 146.18 per dollar, before...
The EUR/USD pair pared daily losses and traded around 1.1230 during the Asian session on Friday (09/05). The pair depreciated as the US dollar (USD) found support from upbeat US economic data and signs of easing trade tensions. US President Donald Trump announced a "major" trade deal with the United Kingdom (UK), although the headline tariffs remain at 10%, which has dampened market optimism. Attention now turns to initial US-China trade talks set for later this week in Switzerland, but both sides have downplayed expectations of a breakthrough. Trump continues to take a hardline stance on...