The Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% to close at 40,795 on Wednesday (August 6th), while the broader Topix Index gained 1.02% to 2,967, marking a second straight day of gains for Japanese equities. Investors shrugged off weak gains on Wall Street, where stagflation concerns were rekindled by weak US economic data. The market also shrugged off new tariff threats from President Donald Trump, who warned of duties of up to 250% on pharmaceutical imports and potential levies on semiconductors. Domestically, data showed Japanese real wages fell for the sixth consecutive month in June, as inflation continued...
Markets are trading in relatively subdued fashion, leaving the USD soft overall but little changed on the session and holding near the past week's low, Scotiabank's Chief FX Strategist Shaun Osborne notes. USD soft but little changed "High beta FX is leading limited gains on the USD in the major currency space. Stocks are modestly higher in Europe after a mixed session in Asia. US equity futures are little changed. Bonds are mostly firmer but Treasurys are underperforming a little. Markets are short on incentives to move today—an ECB rate cut is largely discounted and US data reports this...
Gold futures rise as the U.S. dollar weakens and investors position themselves ahead of key U.S. economic data. Futures are up 0.6% at $3,420.80 a troy ounce. The precious metal has edged higher as the weaker dollar improves gold's comparative safe-haven aspects. U.S. Treasurys also began to slide in the previous session, further supporting gold, SP Angel analysts say in a note. The 10-year fell below 4.4% for the first time since early May, as weak ADP numbers raised concerns over the strength of the U.S. labor market, SP Angel says. Market attention now turns to Friday's nonfarm payroll...
Oil remained stuck near $65 a barrel as signs Saudi Arabia is seeking another big production increase at next month's OPEC+ meeting offset the outlook for summer demand. Brent futures posted a slight recovery Thursday, but prices have been largely bound to a narrow price range since the middle of May. Broader markets were also moslty flat as traders await US jobs data due on Friday. Saudi Arabia wants the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to continue to add at least 411,000 barrels a day of output in August and potentially September, according to...
Silver prices surged to $35.60 per ounce on Thursday, reaching their highest level since February 2012, as weak US economic data and a dovish Federal Reserve outlook fueled safe-haven demand ahead of Friday's non-farm payrolls report. Expectations for a Fed rate cut in September have intensified following a string of disappointing indicators. The latest ADP report showed just 37,000 private-sector jobs were added in May, the weakest monthly gain since March 2023, while the ISM Services PMI dropped to 49.9, signaling the sector's first contraction in nearly a year. Outside of economic...
'Slightly pessimistic and uncertain' was the characterisation of the US outlook expressed in the Fed's Beige Book released last night and ahead of the next FOMC meeting on 19 June. Yet business sentiment did not show any clear deterioration over prior Beige Books, and the report also noted that 'there were widespread reports of contacts expecting costs and prices to rise at a faster rate going forward'. This latter point is keeping the Fed resistant to growing political pressure to cut rates, ING's FX analyst Chris Turner notes. USD is susceptible to further downside "Softer US data has...