The U.S. Dollar Index strengthened overall this week, successfully breaking above the 101 mark and reaching a high of 101.54 on Thursday, with the trend characterized by “safe-haven demand driving the rise and interest rate support.”Escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran drove capital flows toward the dollar, while expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike soared, with the probability of a September rate hike at one point exceeding 80%. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note broke through 4.7%, hitting an 18-month high, further boosting the dollar’s appeal.
Spot gold rose initially but then fell this week. Driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East, it rose consecutively from Tuesday to Wednesday, briefly breaking through $4,160 per ounce, but subsequently came under pressure and retreated due to a stronger U.S. dollar and rising U.S. Treasury yields, closing at $4,053.38 per ounce on Friday.
International oil prices became the main focus of trading this week, with both WTI and Brent crude surging significantly.From Tuesday through Thursday, as U.S. military strikes against Iran continued and Houthi militants threatened shipping in the Red Sea—forcing Saudi oil tankers to reroute—the market once again priced in the risk of supply disruptions, pushing Brent crude futures above $100 per barrel for the first time in two months.Although prices retreated slightly ahead of Friday’s U.S. trading session, both crude oils are still expected to post gains for the third consecutive week.
In U.S. equity markets, the three major indices fluctuated throughout the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.38% for the week, marking its third consecutive week of losses; the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.61% and 2.13%, respectively, both closing lower for the second consecutive week.Large-cap tech stocks such as Tesla and Google performed weakly. Tesla, in particular, plummeted 14.5% on Thursday and fell nearly 18% for the week, marking its largest weekly decline since 2022. The combined market capitalization of the “Big Seven” tech companies evaporated by nearly $800 billion on Thursday alone.