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 held steady early in the Asian session as traders assessed geopolitical developments and tariffs. On the one hand, President Trump said there was a "high probability" he would soon meet with Russian President Putin to discuss the war in Ukraine, which may reduce the precious metal's appeal as a safe-haven asset. On the other hand, Trump doubled tariffs on India to 50%, while India criticized the new tariffs, which could escalate US-India trade tensions. "The coming hours and days may play a key role in shaping the dynamics of the [gold] market," said Samer Hasn, senior market analyst...
Oil maintained a five-day losing streak, its longest losing streak since January, as investors looked beyond US efforts to punish buyers of Russian crude, while following President Donald Trump's diplomatic push to end the war in Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed at just under $65 a barrel after dropping to its lowest closing level since early June, while Brent closed just below $67. On Wednesday, Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50% due to the country's purchases of Russian energy, with the tariffs set to take effect in three weeks. However, no similar US...
The EUR/USD rallied more than 0.50% on Wednesday, boosted by broad US Dollar weakness across the board as traders began to price in rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. In addition, fears of the Fed's independence from the White House increased, as US President Trump said that he would nominate a replacement for the vacated seat by Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, who steps down on August 8. The pair trades at 1.1657 after bouncing off lows of 1.1564. The economic docket in the US was empty on Wednesday, though a slew of Fed officials crossed the wires. Boston Fed President Susan Collins revealed...
Gold price retreats in the North American session, weighed down by rising US Treasury yields, traders booking profits, and news that US President Donald Trump might name Fed Governor Adriana Kugler's replacement toward the end of the year. The XAU/USD trades at $3,372, down 0.23%. Bullion faltering to extend its rally, which extended for three days, is also attributed to traders booking profits, even though US President Donald Trump signed an executive order adding a 25% levy on India as the latter continues to purchase Russian Oil. India's new tariff, effective 21 days after August 7,...
Oil prices slid about 1% to an eight-week low on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks about progress in talks with Moscow created uncertainty on whether the U.S. would impose new sanctions on Russia. Brent crude futures fell 75 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $66.89 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 81 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $64.35. Those moves marked a fifth consecutive day of losses for both crude benchmarks, with Brent closing at its lowest since June 10 and WTI closing at its lowest since June 5. Trump said on Wednesday that his special...