On Wednesday, the U.S. Dollar Index fell for the third consecutive trading day, ultimately closing down 0.06% at 98.78.After the Treasury announced the scale of its repurchase operations on Thursday, U.S. Treasuries fell rather than rose; the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose more than 5 basis points to close at 4.849%, hitting a nearly three-year high;the yield on the 2-year Treasury note—which is sensitive to the Fed’s policy rate—rose more than 3 basis points to close at 4.442%.
Against the backdrop of a weak dollar, precious metals regained their appeal as safe-haven assets. Spot gold reclaimed the psychological threshold of $4,400, reaching a high of $4,434.1 per ounce, and ultimately closed up 1.07% at $4,402 per ounce;spot silver ultimately closed up 2.32% at $67.28 per ounce.
The latest round of escalating clashes between the U.S. and Iran has intensified tensions in the Gulf, driving international oil prices higher. Brent crude futures broke through the $100 per barrel mark for the first time since July 24.WTI crude briefly touched the $95 mark and ultimately closed up 2.16% at $94.25 per barrel; Brent crude ultimately closed up 1.99% at $99.62 per barrel. European natural gas prices surpassed 80 euros per megawatt-hour for the first time since 2023.
All three major U.S. stock indices closed lower: the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.77%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.48%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.64%. Apple (AAPL.O) fell 0.2%, while SK Hynix (SKHY.O) rose 7%.AMD (AMD.O) gained 3%, and Meta Platforms (META.O) rose 6.5%. The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index closed down 2.08%, with Alibaba (BABA.N) falling 2.8% and iQIYI (IQ.O) dropping 5%.