The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.7% and the S&P 500 gained 0.3% on Friday, led by a 10.8% surge in Amazon shares after the company said cloud revenue climbed 20% in the third quarter and beat estimates, lifting tech names broadly. The Dow traded up 60 points. Palantir and Oracle added 3% and 2.8%, repsectively, on AI optimism and Nvidia also traded higher. Elsewhere, Netflix rallied 2.9% on an announced 10 for 1 stock split and Tesla jumped 3.1%. Energy names diverged as Chevron rose 1.9% on stronger earnings and Exxon Mobil slipped 1.5% after a profit decline. On the other hand, Meta fell...
Gold (XAU/USD) is edging lower on Friday after peaking at $3,409 earlier in the day, its highest level in two weeks amid a cautious market mood. At the time of writing, the metal is hovering near $3,395 at the start of the American session. The precious metal remains underpinned by concerns over the economic impacts from US tariffs, persistent inflation worries, and growing speculation that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will lower the interest rate in September. However, a modest rebound in the US Dollar (USD) and relatively stable Treasury yields are capping further upside, as bulls struggle...
US tariffs on gold bars have caused US futures on the metal to jump higher versus the spot price set in London. The move may end up enhancing the importance of the US in the global bullion market. An unexpected levy on one-kilogram and 100-ounce gold bars coming into the US has caused upset in the precious metals market. The import tax will have the greatest impact on Switzerland, one of the top refining centers. The futures market for gold is based out of New York on the Comex exchange, and the very bars that are being tariffed are those that are suitable for Comex...
The dollar firmed slightly on Friday but was heading for a weekly fall as U.S. President Donald Trump's temporary choice for a fill-in Federal Reserve governor stoked expectations for a dovish pick to replace chair Jerome Powell when his term ends. The yen was a touch weaker on the day against the dollar, which fell 0.31% to 147.560 yen. The dollar also rose 0.25% against the euro to $1.163775 and strengthened 0.29% against the Swiss franc to 0.80840 francs. As concerns over softening U.S. economic momentum, especially in the labour market, boost hopes of Fed rate cuts, the dollar was down...
Oil prices were stable on Friday but poised for the steepest weekly losses since late June on a tariff-hit economic outlook and a potential meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Brent crude futures were up 21 cents, or 0.32%, at 6.64 a barrel by 0901 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 18 cents, or 0.28%, to $64.06. Brent was on track to be down 4.3% over the week while WTI was set to finish 4.9% lower than last Friday's close. Higher U.S. tariffs against a host of trade partners went into effect on Thursday, raising concern...
The dollar was steady on Friday but poised for a weekly fall as U.S. President Donald Trump's temporary choice for a fill-in Federal Reserve governor stoked expectations for a dovish pick to replace chair Jerome Powell when his term ends. As concerns over softening U.S. economic momentum, especially in the labour market, boost hopes of Fed rate cuts, the dollar was down 0.6% on the week so far, against a basket of peers. On the day, the dollar index was little changed, at 98.1. Trump has nominated Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran for a newly vacant seat at the Fed,...