Dollar Holds Gains ahead of Powell's Jackson Hole Speech

Equities

U.S. stocks finished the session lower on Thursday, weighed down by the possibilities of Trump’s impeachment. Trump said yesterday that if he got impeached, the stock market would crash and everybody would be very poor. The Dow Jones tumbled by 0.3% to settle at 25656, and SPX500 lost 0.2% to 2856. The Nasdaq Composite ended a five-day winning streak closing at 7878. Since Trump was elected, the stock market strengthened to reach a record high and post the longest Bull Run in the history of the stock market. Despite the trade uncertainty that he created, the corporate tax cut and regulatory reforms helped to outweigh the effect of trade disputes. Major US indices will be vulnerable to headlines about Trump’s legal issues.

USD

The dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies ended a five-day losing streak and settled higher at 95.64. The dollar was under pressure as Trump criticized Chairman Powell and higher interest rates. The FOMC meeting minutes showed on Wednesday that the Fed officials expect further gradual rate hikes. Market participants await the speech of Chairman Powell at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium today to get more clues about the monetary policy. The USDJPY rose to a three-week high of 111.48, the EURUSD traded at a low of $1.1530, and the GBPUSD tumbled to a low of $1.2800.

Metals

Gold prices fell to a low of $1184 as the bullion found a heavy resistance near the psychological level of $1200 on Wednesday. The gold ounce recovered slightly during the Asian session to trade at $1188. On the other hand, the silver ounce fell to a one-week low of $14.47 and bounced back up to $14.60.

Oil

Oil prices retraced a little on Thursday as the prices advanced for five consecutive days. However, the prices recovered and continued higher during the Asian session. The West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose to a high of $68.39 per barrel, and the Brent traded at a three-week high of $75.31 per barrel. The U.S. energy services firm Baker Hughes will report the weekly US oil rig count later today.

Major Economic Events

 
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