Oil prices edged up slightly, recovering from a drop into negative territory following a report that OPEC+ was planning to hike production in August, but tumbled about 12% in the week in their biggest drop since March 2023.
Wall Street extended its rally, sending S&P 500 and Nasdaq to all-time closing highs as trade deal hopes fueled investor risk appetite and economic data helped solidify expectations for rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Investors are poised to shift their attention in the coming week to key economic data and policy developments to see if the torrid rally in U.S. stocks extends higher. The benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq both tallied record highs on Friday for the first time in months.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would “love” if Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell were to resign, and the president also said he wanted interest rates cut to 1%. Trump has long attacked the Federal Reserve chair over interest rates that the U.S. president wants lowered.
Gold prices held steady as investors awaited U.S. inflation data to gauge the interest rate outlook and kept an eye on the Middle East as geopolitical tensions eased, while palladium and platinum saw sharp rises.
Nike reported a smaller-than-expected drop in fourth-quarter revenue and beat profit estimates, as CEO Elliott Hill’s strategy to focus product innovation and marketing around sports begins to pay off.
The gulf between where the Federal Reserve projects interest rates will be by the end of 2026 and the more aggressive cutting financial markets expect by then is partly due to the expectation that U.S. central bank chief Jerome Powell will be replaced by somebody more dovish next year, investors said.
A battered dollar is taking another beating as investors, unnerved by fresh signs of an erosion in U.S. central bank independence, waste no time in pushing the greenback back to its lowest levels in over three years.
