Last Friday, U.S. retail sales unexpectedly posted a month-over-month decline, and the U.S. Dollar Index continued its intraday downward trend, ultimately closing down 0.32% at 99.64;The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield closed at 4.697%, while the 2-year U.S. Treasury yield, which is sensitive to the Fed’s policy rate, closed at 4.182%.
Spot gold dipped to $4,310 during the Asian session before stabilizing and rebounding; following the release of the retail sales data, gold surged to near the $4,400 level, ultimately closing up 0.59% at $4,376.59 per ounce;Spot silver ultimately closed up 0.37% at $64.7 per ounce.
Late Friday evening, a vessel was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz; the United Arab Emirates claimed Iran was responsible for the attack.WTI crude oil closed up 1.37% at $81.53 per barrel; Brent crude oil closed up 1.65% at $87.28 per barrel.
In U.S. markets, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.20%, the S&P 500 fell 0.17%,and the Nasdaq fell 0.28%. Drone technology company Unusual Machines (UMAC.N) surged 24.83%. Storage-related stocks continued their upward trend, with SanDisk (SNDK.O) up 7.39% and Micron Technology (MU.O) up 2.3%.Semiconductor stocks were mixed, with AMD (AMD.O) up 6.5%, Broadcom (AVGO.O) down 5.94%, and Applied Materials (AMAT.O) down 5.12%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rose 0.6%.