Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell emphasized that a December interest rate cut was not a certainty. The region's benchmark indexes were virtually unchanged, while US stock futures fluctuated between gains and losses. The 10-year US Treasury yield hovered around 4.07%, adding pressure on riskier assets. Gold briefly edged up after four days of declines. On the issuer side, tech giant earnings results were mixed: Meta fell 7.7% in after-hours trading, Alphabet jumped 6%, and Microsoft weakened. In Asia, Samsung Electronics gained after earnings beat...
The Pound Sterling (GBP) extends its winning streak for the fifth trading day against the US Dollar (USD) at the start of the week. The GBP/USD pair jumps to near 1.3480 due to the continued underperformance from the US Dollar, which is dragged by increasing expectations of interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed). At the time of writing, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback's value against six major currencies, trades 0.17% lower to near 98.00. The US Dollar underperforms as traders have become increasingly confident that the Fed will reduce interest rates in the...
The U.S. dollar was little changed on Monday before Tuesday's deadline for Washington and Beijing to strike a tariff deal and a key U.S. inflation report that could help determine whether the Federal Reserve lowers borrowing costs next month. The dollar index was down less than 0.1% to 98.164 after last week's 0.4% fall. Against the yen, the U.S. currency traded at 147.39, down 0.2%. Japanese markets were closed on Monday for the Mountain Day holiday. The euro was up less than 0.1% at $1.1652, while sterling was flat at $1.3462. The dollar remains on the back foot as investors recently...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) seesaws between tepid gains/minor losses against its American counterpart through the early European session on Monday amid mixed fundamental cues. The prevalent risk-on environment, along with the uncertainty over the likely timing of the next interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BoJ), is seen undermining the safe-haven JPY. However, the divergent BoJ-Federal Reserve (Fed) policy expectations hold back the JPY bears from placing aggressive bets. Investors seem convinced that the BoJ will raise interest rates by the end of this year. In contrast, the US central...
Oil prices fell in Asian trade on Monday, extending declines of more than 4% last week as investors awaited the outcome of talks between the U.S. and Russia later this week on the war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures fell 62 cents, or 0.93%, to $65.97 a barrel by 0631 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 69 cents, or 1.08%, to $63.19. Expectations have risen for a potential end to sanctions that have limited the supply of Russian oil to international markets, after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on...
Gold prices slipped on Monday as market participants focussed on U.S.-Russia talks on the war in Ukraine, and July inflation data that could offer more insight into the Federal Reserve's interest rate outlook. Spot gold was down 0.6% at $3,378.49 per ounce, as of 0521 GMT, after hitting its highest since July 23 on Friday. U.S. gold futures for December delivery dropped 1.4% to $3,441.20. "Cooling geopolitical tensions surrounding the war in Ukraine saw gold fall further, following Friday's announcement that President Donald Trump will meet with Vladimir Putin on the U.S. soil," City...