European stocks closed firmly higher to record sharp gains in the first week of August as markets continued to assess the outlook of the European economy amid uncertain tariff levels by the US and policy reactions by the ECB. The Eurozone's STOXX 50 gained 0.4% to 5,354, a 3.6% gain on the week, while the pan-European STOXX 600 advanced 0.3% to 547, a 2.2% rise on the week. Banks continued to rise sharply in the session with BBVA, BNP Paribas, and UniCredit each gaining more than 2%. In the meantime, Siemens advanced 2.2% following a volatile week while Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and...
The Australian dollar strengthened to around $0.653 on Wednesday, snapping a three-day losing streak, as investors turned their attention to Thursday's labor market data, which could provide fresh insight into the near-term policy outlook. The Reserve Bank of Australia has recently adopted a cautious, data-driven stance, citing a more balanced inflation outlook and ongoing labor market resilience. And a robust jobs report could cast doubt on the 80% market-implied probability of a rate cut at next month's meeting. Markets are currently expecting a gain of 20,000 jobs in June and an...
The U.S. dollar rose alongside Treasury yields on Wednesday, which in turn kept pressure on the yen after the latest U.S. inflation report showed signs that President Donald Trump's tariffs were beginning to feed into prices. Rising prices on goods as varied as coffee, audio equipment and home furnishing pulled the inflation rate higher in June, with substantial increases in prices of the heavily imported items. That pushed the dollar and bond yields higher as investors pared back expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year. The jump in the dollar was most apparent...
Gold edged higher after a slew of tariff-related announcements from President Donald Trump signaled concerns over the impact of a potential global trade war remain, giving support to the haven asset. Bullion ticked up to about $3,330 an ounce after closing 0.6% lower on Tuesday. Trump said he had reached a deal with Indonesia, imposing 19% tariff on country. The president also said levies on pharmaceuticals were likely as soon as the end of the month, while rates on semiconductors were also looming. Meanwhile, the US opened an investigation into Brazil about its "unfair" trade...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $65.70 during the early Asian trading hours on Wednesday. The WTI price edges lower amid easing concerns about supply disruption after US President Donald Trump gives a 50-day deadline for Russia to end the war in Ukraine. Trump late Monday announced new weapons for Ukraine and threatened sanctions on buyers of Russian exports unless Russia agrees to a peace deal in 50 days. The WTI price loses ground as the 50-day deadline raises hopes that sanctions could be avoided. US crude oil inventory unexpectedly rose last...
Gold price tumbled on Tuesday, down more than 0.40% following the release of the latest inflation report in the United States (US), which boosted the US Dollar to the detriment of the precious metal. Comments by US President Donald Trump and risk aversion, instead of driving Bullion prices higher, weighed on the precious metal, which trades at $3,329 after hitting a daily peak of $3,366. The market mood is mixed, with US equities fluctuating between gains and losses following the release of the June Consumer Price Index (CPI). Headline and core figures on an annual basis rose, signaling...