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 Australian Dollar (AUD) extends its losses for the second consecutive session on Tuesday. The AUD/USD pair depreciates despite an improved Westpac Consumer Confidence, which surged 5.7% in August to 98.5, following a 0.6% increase in July. The sentiment has reached a high since February 2022, as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has delivered rate cuts totaling 75 basis points since January. Matthew Hassan, Head of Australian Macro-Forecasting, said the prolonged period of consumer pessimism may be coming to an end, although maintaining momentum could require additional easing....
The dollar index climbed above 98.2 on Tuesday, extending the previous session's gains as investors focused on a pivotal summit between President Donald Trump and European leaders aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. During the talks, Trump discussed potential security guarantees for Kyiv and announced follow-up meetings involving Russian and Ukrainian leaders, which he will later on attend. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine has offered to purchase about $90 billion worth of US weapons as part of the guarantees, with details expected to be finalized within ten days. On...
Oil markets were in focus following President Donald Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as traders weighed the potential implications for regional stability and energy flows. Crude oil held steady after Monday's gain, as Trump said he began arranging a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskiy. Asian stocks may struggle for direction at the open after the S&P 500 closed little changed. The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points on Monday, while the Bloomberg Dollar Spot...
Gold consolidates in early Asian trade ahead of the Jackson Hole economic symposium later this week. Traders await any further signals that Fed rate cuts are imminent, ANZ Research analysts say in a research report. This may happen at the symposium, where Fed Chair Powell is expected to set the scene for rate cuts as soon as September, the analysts say. However, a stronger USD has tempered investor demand while easing geopolitical tensions have weighed on safe-haven-related buying, they add. Spot gold is little changed at $3,331.89/oz. Source: Bloomberg
GBP/USD saw a softer start to the new trading week, easing back around four-tenths of one percent through the opening market sessions. The US Dollar (USD) pared some of last week's overall losses, trimming near-term gains for the Pound Sterling (GBP) on Monday. The week starts on a quiet note, with little of note on the data docket. That all changes on Wednesday, with a fresh salvo of key economic data from the United Kingdom (UK) and the start of this year's Jackson Hole Economic Symposium hosted by the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of Kansas. UK Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation figures...