Last Friday, the U.S. August core CPI came in higher than expected on a month-over-month basis, reigniting expectations of a Fed rate hike in September. The U.S. Dollar Index rose briefly before quickly falling back; it traded sideways throughout the day and ultimately closed up 0.031% at 99.1.The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note reached a session high of 4.986%, edging closer to the 5% mark and hitting its highest level since October 2023; it ultimately closed at 4.974%. The yield on the 2-year U.S. Treasury note, which is sensitive to the Fed’s policy rate, rose to 4.628%.
With expectations of a Fed rate hike and falling oil prices offsetting each other, spot gold prices fluctuated wildly, first falling and then rising with a trading range of over $110. It hit a low of $4,290.42 per ounce,peaking at $4,402.51 per ounce, before closing up 0.75% at $4,348.93 per ounce; spot silver closed up 1.43% at $64.50 per ounce.
International oil prices ended their four-day winning streak as Iran is set to meet with Gulf nations and a ceasefire on the western coast of the Red Sea signaled a de-escalation in the Middle East.WTI crude oil fell below the $97 mark, ultimately closing down 3.95% at $96.62 per barrel; Brent crude oil closed down 4.3% at $101.73 per barrel.
All three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher: the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.98%, the S&P 500 gained 0.86%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.96%.Qualcomm (QCOM.O) rose 2.88%, Intel (INTC.O) rose 2.61%, SpaceX (SPCX.O) rose 2.04%, and Amazon (AMZN.O) rose 1.94%; SanDisk (SNDK.O) fell 3.5%,Oracle (ORCL.N) fell 1.82%, and Micron Technology (MU.O) fell 0.22%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rose 0.4%, with Baidu (BIDU.O) up 0.89% and Alibaba (BABA.N) up 0.68%.