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...
EUR/USD is trading slightly higher near 1.1325 during European trading hours on Monday (05/05), strengthening after hitting a three-week low of 1.1265 late last week. The major currency pair strengthened as the US dollar (USD) amid ongoing uncertainty over the United States (US)-China trade relations and as investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell near 99.80 but traded within Friday's range. Over the weekend, US President...
Gold (XAU/USD) prices maintained its bid tone heading into the European session, albeit lacked any follow-through as traders opted to wait for more cues on the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate hike path before placing any directional bets. Hence, the focus would remain on the outcome of the two-day FOMC policy meeting on Wednesday, which would play a key role in influencing the near-term US Dollar (USD) price dynamics and provide some meaningful impetus to the non-yielding yellow metal. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump's erratic trade policies kept investors on their toes....
Oil prices plunged more than $2 a barrel in Asian trade on Monday as OPEC+ prepared to further accelerate oil output increases, stoking concerns about more supply coming into a market clouded by an uncertain demand outlook. Brent crude futures fell $2.21, or 3.61%, to $59.08 a barrel by 0653 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $56.00 a barrel, down $2.29, or 3.93%. Both contracts touched their lowest levels since April 9 at the open on Monday after OPEC+ agreed to accelerate oil output increases for a second straight month, increasing output in June by 411,000 barrels per...
The USD/CHF pair struggled to capitalize on Friday's US jobs data-led uptick from the 0.8200 level and attracted fresh sellers at the start of a new week. However, the spot prices remained confined within a familiar range for the past two weeks and are currently trading around the 0.8235-0.8230 region, down nearly 0.50% for the day. The better-than-expected release of the closely watched US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report forced investors to push back their expectations for a 25 basis points (bps) interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve (Fed) to July from June. However, the US Dollar (USD)...
Silver (XAG/USD) prices halted a four-day decline, trading near $32.10 during the Asian session on Monday (05/05). The precious metal regained ground as ongoing uncertainty surrounding US-China trade talks fueled safe-haven demand. On Friday, China's Ministry of Commerce said it was considering a proposal from the United States (US) to resume trade discussions. This came after US President Donald Trump stated that negotiations were ongoing, although he clarified that no talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping were scheduled for this week. The US dollar (USD) also weakened, increasing the...