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Market Wrap: Stocks, Bonds, Commodities |
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On Tuesday, major U.S. stock indexes were once down sharply by over 2% before narrowing losses at close.
The S&P 500 closed 64 points lower (-0.94%) at 6,816, and the Nasdaq 100 fell 272 points (-1.09%) to 24,720.
The Dow Jones was down 403 points (-0.83%) to 48,501.
While the Middle East conflict, U.S. and Israeli forces against Iran, continued, investors were concerned about the conflict’s duration, as the Trump administration indicated that strikes against Iran would persist for weeks and intensify.
And investors also worried about the conflict’s extended impact on oil prices. Oil-tanker traffic in the crucial Strait of Hormuz has slowed to a near standstill amid fears of attack by Iran.
U.S. WTI crude futures jumped a further 3.33 dollars (+4.67%) to 74.56 dollars a barrel.
However, a stronger U.S. dollar pressured precious metal prices, with gold retreating 234 dollars (-4.39%) to 5,089 dollars an ounce, and silver down 7.33 dollars (-8.20%) to 82.02 dollars an ounce.
Nvidia (NVDA) fell 1.33%, and Tesla (TSLA) dropped 2.70%, while Microsoft (MSFT) rose 1.35%, and Meta (META) was up 0.23%.
Palantir Technologies (PLTR), a major supplier of artificial-intelligence technology to the U.S. Department of Defense, advanced a further 1.41% after jumping 6% in the prior session.
Semiconductor stocks underperformed the market, with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) losing 3.86%, Micron Technology (MU) down 7.99%, and Intel (INTC) down 5.27%.
Paramount Skydance (PSKY) lost 6.67% following Fitch's downgrade of the media and entertainment company's credit rating to junk status.
Target (TGT) surged 6.74%. The retailer reported better-than-expected quarterly results and gave an upbeat full-year earnings guidance.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rebounded a further 2.9 basis points to 4.065%.
European stocks closed sharply lower for a second straight session, with the DAX 40 sliding 3.44%, the CAC 40 down 3.46%, and the FTSE 100 down 2.75%.
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The U.S. dollar remained firm against other major currencies, with the dollar index advancing to 99.01.
The Middle East conflict fueled expectations of prolonged inflation and of lower chances of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates.
EUR/USD sank a further 75 pips to a 6-week low at 1.1612.
USD/JPY rose 36 pips to 157.70. Japan's jobless rate increased to 2.7% in January, higher than expected.
GBP/USD slipped 49 pips to 1.3356, AUD/USD declined 54 pips to 0.7037.
USD/CHF gained 23 pips to 0.7812, while USD/CAD dipped 5 pips to 1.3671.
Bitcoin eased less than 1% to 68,300 dollars.
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In Asian trading hours, AUD/USD slipped to 0.7015. Australia's gross domestic product grew 2.6% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, above 2.5% estimated.
On the other hand, China's official manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 49.0 in February, below 49.9 expected.
Meanwhile, EUR/USD was down to 1.1600 and GBP/USD dropped to 1.3330.
USD/JPY eased to 157.55.
Gold rebounded to 5,157 dollars.
Bitcoin was little changed at 68,278 dollars.
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The eurozone's producer price index is estimated to drop 2.6% year-on-year in January, while jobless rate is expected to be unchanged at 6.2%.
In the U.S., the ADP employment is estimated to increase by 19,000 in February, while the ISM services purchasing manager index is expected to slip to 53.0.
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