US stocks closed higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 up 0.8%, and the Nasdaq climbing nearly 1%, while the Dow gaining 206 points. Technology shares, led by Apple which surged 4.2% following its announcement of a $600 billion US investment plan helped lift the tech-heavy Nasdaq to new intraday highs. Investor optimism was also fueled by expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts, with President Trump nominating Stephen Miran to the Fed Board, signaling possible shifts in monetary policy, despite concerns over new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on imports from multiple...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) remained weaker against its US counterpart for the fourth straight day and retested its monthly low during the Asian session on Wednesday (6/18). The Bank of Japan (BOJ) signaled a cautious approach to winding down its decade-long monetary stimulus amid uncertain economic growth. This forced investors to push back their expectations about the likely timing of the next BOJ rate hike to Q1 2026, which in turn, was seen weakening the JPY. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba failed to reach a tariff breakthrough at the G7...
Oil prices rose after surging to their highest in nearly five months on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump stoked speculation that the U.S. might join an attack on Iran, raising concerns about a disruption to Middle East supplies. West Texas Intermediate crude rose as much as 1.1% to trade above $75 a barrel earlier. Brent crude settled near $76 in the previous session. Trump met with his national security team on Tuesday, demanding Iran's "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER" and warning of a possible attack on the OPEC producer leader ahead of the meeting in a social media post. So far, Iran's crude...
Gold was steady in early Asian trade, supported by continuing geopolitical tensions that typically boost the precious metal's appeal as a safe haven. The Israeli military issued two warnings about incoming missiles early Wednesday, local time, saying the launches had been detected as being aimed at Iran and that they were trying to intercept them. "The environment for precious metals remains favorable," Thu Lan Nguyen of Commerzbank Research said in a note. The head of FX and Commodity Research cited factors including continued high geopolitical uncertainty. Spot gold was little changed at...
GBP/USD plummeted over 1.2% on Tuesday, backsliding through near-term congestion and popping out the other side near the 1.3400 handle after global investors were knocked off their pre-seeded hopes that the Israel-Iran altercation would find a quick and peaceful resolution. Donald Trump, posting on social media Tuesday, declared that he wants an "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER" from Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, and announced that American military assets were moving into the Middle East conflict region. The escalation between Israel and Iran, on top of Trump's decision to further involve...
The US Dollar rallied past 98.86, up 0.74% at four-day highs, despite US Treasury yields plunging. This move came despite the release of worse-than-expected US Retail Sales data in May and a softer reading on Industrial Production. On Wednesday, Initial Jobless Claims for the last week, Housing Starts, Building Permits, and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy decision would set the tone for the Greenback. Consequently, most G8 forex currencies were laggards compared to the US Dollar. The EUR/USD fell below 1.1500 even though German ZEW figures were positive, and ECB's officials...