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.
Platinum rise sharply
Nike tops Q4 sales, profit estimates
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.
Market bets on a more dovish Fed
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.
Nvidia hits record high, overtaking Microsoft
Nvidia’s stock hit a record high, and the chipmaker reclaimed the crown as the world’s most valuable company. The rise sent Nvidia’s stock market value to $3.76 trillion, overtaking Microsoft
Dollar lowest since 2021 against euro, gains on yen
The dollar fell to multi-year lows against the euro and sterling but gained on the Japanese yen as traders evaluated expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and turned attention back to U.S. fiscal policies.
Oil rebounds on signs of strong US demand
Oil prices rose, recovering from a sharp slide early this week, as data showed relatively strong U.S. demand, and as investors assessed the stability of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.