European stocks closed slightly lower on Tuesday after reaching record peaks on the previous session on mixed earnings results, while markets continued to assess the outlook on global trade and European rates. The STOXX 50 inched down by 5,701 and the STOXX 600 lost 03% to 576. Pharmaceutical companies led the losses in the session with a 4.3% slump for Novartis after the Swiss giant posted softer earnings than expected. Roche and Novo Nordisk both fell 2.5% In the meantime, BNP Paribas fell 3.5%, also on an earnings miss. On the other hand, HSBC jumped 4.4% after raising its 2025...
The Pound Sterling (GBP) attracts bids against its major peers on Thursday on upbeat United Kingdom (UK) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and factory data. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the economy grew by 0.3% in the second quarter of the year, stronger than expectations of 0.1%. In the first quarter of the year, GDP growth was 0.7%. In June, the UK economy grew by 0.4% after contracting 0.1% in May, while it was expected to rise just by 0.1%. Factory data has also come in stronger than projected. Month-on-month, Manufacturing and Industrial Production rose by 0.5%...
Oil steadied near a two-month low after the International Energy Agency said the market is on track for record oversupply next year. Brent traded below $66 a barrel, after closing at its lowest since June 5 on Wednesday, while West Texas Intermediate was around $63. Gloomy predictions from both the IEA and the US government this week come as supplies from both within and outside OPEC+ are expected to rise into the fourth quarter. Brent's nearest timespread — a guage of market health — is trading at its weakest level since May. Against that backdrop, traders are...
Gold prices edged down on Thursday due to a slight uptick in the U.S. dollar index, although expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September limited losses. Spot gold fell 0.3% to $3,346.19 per ounce as of 0848 GMT. U.S. gold futures for December delivery were down 0.4% to $3,393.80. The dollar (.DXY), opens new tab rose 0.04% from an over two-week low against its rivals, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies. "The marginal reduction in gold since this morning could be just chalked down to a slightly firmer dollar," said Nitesh Shah, commodities...
The U.S. dollar rose slightly against other major currencies on Thursday, but stayed close to multi-week lows as bets that the Federal Reserve will resume cutting interest rates next month ticked higher. Bucking the trend was the yen, with the dollar hitting a three-week low against the Japanese currency after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the Bank of Japan needs to raise rates again soon, while the Fed cuts aggressively. Rising expectations for monetary easing combined with increasing institutional cryptocurrency investment powered bitcoin to a new record peak earlier in...
Silver prices held above $38.5 per ounce on Thursday, hovering near a three-week high as expectations for deeper Federal Reserve rate cuts this year supported the market. Softer US inflation data suggested President Donald Trump's tariffs are not adding to price pressures, while signs of labor market cooling reinforced the dovish outlook. Markets have nearly fully priced in a September cut, with some anticipating a larger 50-basis-point move. Additionally, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for multiple rate cuts and said the Fed could kick off the policy rate easing with a half-point...