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...
Crude held near $66 a barrel after the International Energy Agency said oil markets are set to see a growing surplus at the end of this year and into next. The Brent and West Texas Intermediate futures benchmarks were both little changed. Oil inventories are set to grow at the fastest pace on record next year and hit a 46-month high in June, the agency said, a day after the US government also bolstered its view for a surplus this year. Against that backdrop, traders are looking ahead to a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian...
The dollar fell to a two-week low on Wednesday after a tame reading on U.S. inflation bolstered expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next month, with President Donald Trump's attempts to extend his grip over U.S. institutions also undermining the currency. The dollar index, measuring the currency against a basket of peers, fell to 97.62, its lowest since July 28, extending its 0.5% fall on Tuesday. It was last down 0.3% at 97.70. U.S. consumer prices increased marginally in July, data showed on Tuesday, in line with forecasts and as the pass-through from Trump's sweeping tariffs to...
Gold rose on Wednesday as expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September gained traction following mild inflation data, while a weaker dollar bolstered bullion's demand. Spot gold gained 0.3% to $3,354.77 per ounce, as of 0802 GMT. U.S. gold futures for December delivery inched up 0.1% at $3,403.20. "Market participants are starting to debate if the Fed will do a 50 basis point cut at its September meeting following the comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent yesterday, with a focus on incoming weaker U.S. economic data supporting that," said UBS commodity...
Crude edged lower after the International Energy Agency said oil markets are set to see a growing surplus at the end of this year and into next. Global benchmark Brent fell as much as 0.9% to around $66 a barrel, extending Tuesday's small decline. Oil inventories are set to grow at the fastest pace on record next year and hit a 46-month high in June, the agency said, a day after the US government also bolstered its view for a surplus this year. Against that backdrop, traders are looking ahead to a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart in Alaska on Friday...
The British pound rose to $1.355, a three-week high, after UK labour data showed smaller-than-expected job losses in July, easing concerns about the economy. Payrolls fell just 8,000, well below forecasts of 20,000, and earlier months were revised lower, suggesting the labour market is holding up despite the Labour government's £26 billion tax increase. Unemployment remained at 4.7%, while private-sector wage growth eased slightly to 4.8%, still above the Bank of England's 2% inflation target. The data highlights the BoE's delicate balancing act between sticky inflation and a softening...