US Stocks plunged on Friday, as investors reacted to a weak July jobs report and a fresh round of tariffs announced by President Trump. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 1.6% and 2.2%, their steepest drops since April, while the Dow lost 542 points. Payrolls rose by just 73,000 in July, far below expectations, with sharp downward revisions to prior months signaling deeper labor market weakness. Treasury yields fell and the odds of a September Fed rate cut rose above 80%. Sentiment worsened after new tariffs of 10% to 41% were imposed on imports from key partners including Canada, India, and...
Oil prices rose on Friday as U.S. buyers covered positions ahead of the three-day Memorial Day weekend amid concerns over the latest round of nuclear talks between U.S. and Iranian negotiators. Brent crude futures settled at $64.78 a barrel, up 34 cents, or 0.54%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $61.53, up 33 cents, or 0.54%. "I think there's some short-covering ahead of the weekend," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group. The Memorial Day weekend marks the start of the U.S. summer driving season, the peak demand period for motor fuel. U.S. and Iranian...
Gold prices rose more than 2% on Friday and posted their best week in six, as investors sought safe-haven assets amid new tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump and a weaker dollar. Spot gold rose 2.1% to $3,362.70 an ounce by 1:56 p.m. ET (1756 GMT). Bullion has gained 5.1% this week to hit its highest in more than two weeks. U.S. gold futures settled 2.1% higher at $3,365.8. "Trump has been on a rampage in the past 24 hours. Threatening 50% tariffs on the EU from June 1, attacking Apple and bashing Harvard have put stocks in a sour mood, which is good for gold," said Tai Wong,...
Oil prices rose on Friday as U.S. buyers stocked up ahead of the three-day Memorial Day weekend amid concerns over the latest round of nuclear talks between U.S. and Iranian negotiators. Brent crude futures rose 54 cents, or 0.84%, to settle at $64.98 a barrel by 1600 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 39 cents, or 0.64%, at $61.59. In earlier trading, oil futures had fallen 1% as they headed for their first weekly decline in three weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday recommended a 50% tariff on the European Union and expectations grew that OPEC+ would increase...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the US Dollar (USD) against a basket of six major currencies, fell further on Friday (5/23) and erased the previous day's recovery, trading near 99.20 at the time of writing. The fresh decline came after the House of Representatives passed US President Donald Trump's spending bill, which is now on its way to the Senate. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said that the "big, beautiful bill" comes at a high price: an additional $3.8 trillion in debt to the federal government's $36.2 trillion debt over the next decade, according to Reuters. The...
Gold prices and gold stocks jumped on Friday as investors returned to the precious metal for the same reasons stocks fell on fears of new tariffs. Several gold miners flashed buy signals. Gold rose 1.4% to $3,340.80 an ounce, according to FactSet. It is up nearly 5% from a low of $3,187.20 on May 16 but is still about 2.5% below a high of $3,422.80 on May 6. Gold has pulled back from record highs this month as the tariff war eased. But investors have started turning to bullion as Treasury yields rose this week. On Friday, President Donald Trump's new tariff threats added to demand for...