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...
Gold jumped after Israel carried out airstrikes targeting Iran's nuclear sites and military leadership, raising concerns that hostilities between the two countries could escalate into a wider regional conflict. Bullion rose as much as 1.7% on safe-haven investor demand, before paring some gains. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation would continue until the "threat" was eliminated. Iran vowed a "strong response" to the airstrikes and sent a wave of drones toward Israel. The U.S. was not involved in the Israeli strikes, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, but...
The US dollar rose on Friday as investors flocked to the currency and other safe havens including US Treasury bonds and gold after Israel launched a major attack on Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate. Israel said it targeted multiple military targets in Iran, and Iran launched a barrage of drones in response. "The geopolitical escalation adds another layer of uncertainty to an already fragile sentiment," said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo. "The key question now is whether this marks a brief flare-up or the beginning of a broader regional escalation. If tensions...
The US Dollar pared losses after a sharp drop on Thursday (6/13). Risk-off reaction to Israel's attack on Iran has brought some cheer to the US Dollar, pushing the pair back above 0.8100, but it is still on track for a weekly decline of 1.3%. News reports of explosions at nuclear and military sites in Iran that would kill several high-ranking Revolutionary Guard figures in an attack that, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, could last for several days. Iran announced that it would walk away from nuclear talks with the US, which took place on Sunday in Oman, and launched...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) retreats further from over a one-week top touched against the rebounding US Dollar (USD) during the Asian session on Friday, pushing the USD/JPY pair to a fresh daily peak, around the 143.75 area in the last hour. Reports that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will keep the benchmark rate steady at 0.5% at its upcoming meeting next week turn out to be a key factor weighing on the JPY. Investors, however, seem convinced that the BoJ will stick to the path toward policy normalization amid the broadening inflation in Japan. Adding to this, a sharp escalation of geopolitical...
Silver price (XAG/USD) retraces its recent gains registered in the previous session, trading around $36.30 per troy ounce during the Asian hours on Friday. A bullish bias is prevailing as the technical analysis of the daily chart shows the price of the precious metal remains within an ascending channel pattern. The Silver price is remaining above the nine-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), further highlighting that the short-term momentum is stronger. Additionally, the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovers slightly below the 70 level after retreating from higher levels,...