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 price (XAG/USD) moves higher to near $32.60 during European trading hours on Friday. The white metal gains as the US Dollar (USD) corrects ahead of the United States (US) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for April, which will be published at 12:30 GMT. The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback's value against six major currencies, retraces to near 99.90 from the two-week high of 100.37. Technically, a lower US Dollar makes the Silver price a value bet for investors. The US NFP report is expected to show that the economy added 130K fresh workers, significantly lower than the...
Oil prices inched up on Friday after China said it was open for talks with the United States on tariffs, raising hopes of a de-escalation in a bitter trade war between the world's two largest economies and oil consumers. Brent crude futures were up 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $62.22 a barrel at 0804 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $59.30 a barrel. For the week, Brent was on track for a 7% decline and WTI was down 6% so far, the biggest weekly declines in a month. China's Commerce Ministry said on Friday that Beijing was...
Gold gained on Friday as investors rushed to buy the metal a day after its prices hit a two-week low amid receding trade tensions, while the market's focus shifted to the U.S. non-farm payrolls report due later in the day. Spot gold rose 0.4% to $3,254.51 an ounce, as of 0610 GMT. Gold hit its lowest level since mid-April in the previous session and has lost nearly 2% so far this week, the steepest weekly fall since late February. U.S. gold futures rose 1.3% to $3,263. "There have been softening stance (on tariffs) and situation has improved a bit, but still there are a lot of...
After reaching its highest level in three weeks near 100.40 on Thursday, the US Dollar (USD) Index corrects lower to start the European session on Thursday. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics will publish April employment data, which will feature wage inflation, Unemployment Rate and Nonfarm Payrolls figures. Earlier in the day, the European economic calendar will offer preliminary Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) data, the European Central Bank's (ECB) preferred gauge of inflation, for April.Despite mixed macroeconomic data releases from the US, the USD outperformed its rivals on...
Gold price (XAU/USD) struggles to capitalize on modest intraday gains on Friday and remains below the $3,260-3,265 support breakpoint, now turned resistance, through the Asian session. The optimism over a possible US-China trade deal remains supportive of the upbeat market mood and acts as a headwind for the safe-haven precious metal. However, bets for more aggressive policy easing by the Federal Reserve (Fed) cap the recent US Dollar (USD) move up to a multi-week high and lend some support to the commodity. Traders, however, seem reluctant to place aggressive directional bets and opt to...