The Nikkei 225 Index rose 1.27% to close at 48,278 while the broader Topix Index added 0.62% to 3,203 on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session as investors navigated political uncertainty in Japan, while a strong earnings season kept the momentum in stocks. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party proposed holding a vote for a new prime minister on Oct. 21, though opposition parties have yet to agree on the date, keeping the outlook for LDP's Sanae Takaichi unclear. Sentiment was also lifted by a solid start to the earnings season, bolstered by expectations of US rate cuts and...
Oil was on track for the biggest weekly decline since late June, ahead of an OPEC+ meeting that's expected to result in the return of more idled barrels, exacerbating concerns around oversupply. West Texas Intermediate futures traded below $61 a barrel, down almost 8% for the week. Brent closed near $64 on Thursday. The alliance is scheduled to meet on Sunday to make a decision on output for November, and could discuss fast-tracking supply hikes as the group seeks to reclaim market share. There are already early signs that global oversupply may be emerging in the...
The Australian dollar (AUD) moved cautiously as markets weighed the effects of the US government shutdown, which delayed the release of important macro data and obscured visibility ahead of the Fed's decision. The lack of data has led market participants to rely again on signals from Treasury yields and the direction of the DXY; if US yields soften and the dollar loses traction, the AUD has room to strengthen, but any risk-off episodes tend to pressure high-beta currencies like the Aussie. Domestically, the focus is on the RBA early next week to read the latest policy tone: whether the...
Oil prices fell about 2% to their lowest in four months on Thursday, extending a run of declines into a fourth day, due to concerns about oversupply in the market ahead of a meeting of the OPEC+ group over the weekend. Brent crude futures fell $1.20, or 1.8%, to $64.15 a barrel by 2:45 p.m. ET (1845 GMT), the lowest since June 2. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped $1.30, or 2.1%, to settle at $60.48 a barrel, the lowest since May 30. OPEC+ could agree to raise oil production by up to 500,000 barrels per day in November, triple the increase for October, as Saudi Arabia seeks to...
Gold (XAU/USD) trades with a negative bias on Thursday, trimming recent gains after posting a fresh all-time high near $3,895 on Wednesday. At the time of writing, XAU/USD trades around $3,820 during the American session, down over 1.0% after briefly retesting the record peak. The fundamental backdrop still leans supportive. The United States (US) government shutdown is stoking safe-haven interest, while growing conviction that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates later this month is keeping Treasury yields subdued, which bolsters the case for holding the non-yielding...
The dollar weakened near a one-week low on Thursday as traders weighed the impact of the US government shutdown, while poor jobs data raised expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates twice more this year. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.14% to 97.59. It suffered the sharpest decline against the safe-haven yen, which fell 0.3% to 146.69. After four consecutive days of declines, traders considered how long the US government shutdown would last, its impact on economic data releases, and how it would influence the...