On Thursday, the U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) for July came in lower than expected, further indicating that inflationary pressures previously driven by soaring oil prices are easing; bond traders are no longer fully pricing in the possibility of a Federal Reserve rate hike this year;On the geopolitical front, Iran claimed to have full control of the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to escalate the conflict if its demands were not met; the U.S. military maintained its blockade of Iran and deployed the aircraft carrier USS Washington to the Middle East for a rotation.
The U.S. Dollar Index ultimately closed up 0.01% at 99.97; the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield closed at 4.647%, while the 2-year U.S. Treasury yield—which is sensitive to the Fed’s policy rate—closed at 4.153%.
Spot gold faced profit-taking, with the price peaking near $4,450 before ultimately closing down 1.30% at $4,350.07 per ounce; spot silver closed down 1.34% at $64.47 per ounce.
The latest U.S. crude oil inventory report showed a significant increase, and traders are assessing the current volume of crude oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz, leading to a decline in international oil prices.WTI crude oil closed down 1.55% at $80.43 per barrel; Brent crude oil closed down 1.58% at $85.86 per barrel.
U.S. stocks closed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.13%, the S&P 500 up 0.65%, and the Nasdaq up 0.8%. Micron Technology (MU.O) rose 4%, SanDisk (SNDK.O) rose 13.6%, and SK Hynix (SKHY.O) rose 7%.The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index fell 1.85%, with Alibaba (BABA.N) down 2% and JD.com (JD.O) down 7%.