Three major US indexes closed at new record highs after a lower-than-expected inflation report raised the possibility of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut later this year and prompted investors to shift to riskier assets. The S&P 500 rose 0.8%, the Nasdaq rose 1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 470 points. Technology stocks led the rally, with AMD and IBM surging 7.5% and 8.77%, respectively, after IBM said it had successfully implemented a key quantum error correction algorithm on AMD chips, boosting sentiment across the sector. Intel rose 1.6% after returning to...
The U.S. dollar drifted on Thursday as investors fretted about the Federal Reserve's independence after yet another attack from President Donald Trump ahead of remarks from Chair Jerome Powell later this week that could influence the outlook for rates. Trump called on Fed Governor Lisa Cook to resign on the basis of allegations made by one of his political allies about mortgages she holds in Michigan and Georgia, intensifying his effort to gain influence over the U.S. central bank. Cook said she had "no intention of being bullied to step down" from her position at the central bank. Trump...
Gold edges lower in early Asian trade, ahead of the three-day Jackson Hole symposium that begins Thursday. Fed Chair Powell's speech on Friday is expected to be an update on the central bank's monetary policy framework, says Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco.com in a commentary. "Powell's speech could give the marketplace a new perspective on how much FOMC support there is to lower U.S. interest rates in September," he says. Higher rates for longer typically blunt non-interest bearing bullion's appeal. Spot gold is 0.2% lower at $3,343.43/oz. Source: Marketwatch
Oil held a gain after US crude stockpiles shrunk the most since mid-June, keeping inventories well below the seasonal average. West Texas Intermediate traded near $63 a barrel after rising more than 1% on Wednesday. Brent closed below $67. Nationwide holdings dropped by 6 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration. Gasoline stockpiles also declined for a fifth straight week. Oil is still down more than 10% this year on concerns about the fallout from US trade policies and as OPEC+ returns idled production, raising expectations for a glut...
EUR/USD advances steadily during the North American session as the Federal Reserve (Fed) unveils its latest Meeting Minutes. At the time of writing, the pair trades at around 1.1660 and clings to minimal gains of 0.13%. Hawkish Fed Minutes caps Euro's advance; Trump presses Fed governor to resign amid fraud probe The Minutes of the Fed's August meeting showed that the majority of the board "saw inflation risk outweighing employment risk," and that several officials said, "that the current rate may not be far above neutral." This contradicts what US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) extends its decline for the third consecutive day against the US Dollar (USD) on Wednesday, touching a three-week low before steadying. At the time of writing, AUD/USD is consolidating losses around 0.6432, down over 0.30% on the day, as the Aussie remains under pressure despite a softer Greenback. The US Dollar is easing back from a one-week high, weighed down by renewed political tension in Washington after President Donald Trump publicly called for the resignation of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. The move has injected fresh uncertainty into the central...