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...
Government data released Friday showed that Japanese household spending rose 0.4% in March and 2.1% from a year earlier, both beating market expectations. Moreover, expectations that continued wage gains will boost consumer spending and inflation in Japan suggest that the Bank of Japan may not back off its interest rate hike plans altogether. In fact, minutes of the BoJ's monetary policy meeting held on March 18-19 revealed on Thursday that the central bank remains ready to raise interest rates further if inflation trends persist. This, in turn, bolstered the case for further policy...
Silver (XAG/USD) attracted some dip buyers near the $32.20 area during the Asian session on Friday (09/05) and climbed to a fresh intraday high in the last hour. However, the white metal remained within a broader trading range from the previous day and is currently trading just above the mid-$32.00s, up over 0.25% for the day. From a technical perspective, the recent price action along a descending channel constitutes the formation of a bullish flag pattern against the backdrop of a decent recovery from the $28.45 area, or the YTD low touched in April. Moreover, oscillators on the...
Oil prices were little changed on Friday morning after rising more than 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 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $62.91 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $59.98 a barrel by 0121 GMT. On Thursday, Brent closed up 2.8%, or $1.72, and WTI gained 3.2%, or $1.84. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet with China's top economic official, Vice Premier He Lifeng, in...
Gold fell on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with the UK, dimming bullion's safe-haven appeal, while attention shifted to U.S.-China talks this weekend. Spot gold fell 0.8% to $3,277.67 an ounce, as of 0217 GMT. U.S. gold futures lost 0.7% to $3,282.80. Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a "breakthrough deal". A 10% tariff on goods imported from the UK remains in place, while Britain agreed to lower its tariffs to 1.8% from 5.1% and provide greater access to U.S. goods. "I think the progress in trade talks and the U.S.-UK deal is the...
The AUD/USD pair extended its decline for the third straight session, trading near 0.6390 during the Asian session on Friday (09/05). The Australian dollar (AUD) remained pressured amid stalled progress in the US-China trade negotiations. Given the close economic ties between Australia and China, any pressure on the Chinese economy is likely to weigh on the AUD. Beijing is unlikely to ease tariffs ahead of upcoming talks in Switzerland, according to the Global Times—citing the Chinese Embassy in the United States. This has added to market uncertainty and dampened risk sentiment. In the...