(AFP) – Gold and silver prices dived Friday, European stock markets ended the week up while Wall Street fell slightly with investors reassured by US President Donald Trump’s pick to take over as head of the Federal Reserve. The precious metals, viewed as safe-haven investments, had already begun sliding on reports, later confirmed, that Trump had nominated former Fed official Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the US central bank. Trump confirmed his choice Friday on Truth Social.
“I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best,” Trump wrote on his social media platform. “On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting,’ and he will never let you down.” Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading group, said the “interesting pick… may give the market some hope that Fed independence will be preserved.” Trump’s personal attacks on Fed boss Jerome Powell — set to depart in May — have fuelled widespread fears among investors that the central bank’s policy independence is under threat, potentially posing an inflation risk to the US economy.
– A rollercoaster week –
Precious metals prices tumbled on Friday after surging in recent days when investors sought a safe haven over doubts about Trump’s policies. Gold was down more than eight percent below $5,000 an ounce after reaching a record high of $5,595.47 Thursday. Silver, which Thursday reached an all-time peak above $120 an ounce, shed 20 percent meanwhile in sliding down to $90 an ounce. Financial markets have endured a rollercoaster ride this week as traders weathered a weaker dollar, Trump’s threats against Tehran, the president’s resumption of tariff threats and a possible US government shutdown.
Asian stock markets closed out the week with some hefty losses following Thursday’s tech-led retreat on Wall Street on renewed concerns over vast investments in artificial intelligence. Healthy earnings from Meta, Samsung and SK Hynix provided much cheer early in the week but on Thursday, after Microsoft announced a surge in spending on AI infrastructure, that revived concerns that companies could take some time before seeing a return on their investments. There are fears that firms’ valuations may be a little too stretched and that markets could be in a bubble, having soared in recent years to record highs on the back of a tech-fuelled rally.
Oil prices regained their poise after an early fall Friday, having surged the day before as Trump ramped up geopolitical tensions with threats of a military strike on Iran. “The building tensions between Iran and the US have driven Brent crude prices to a six-month high,” said Megan Fisher, assistant economist at Capital Economics. “That said, we think that the historical example of last year’s 12-day war (between Iran and Israel with US involvement), and a well-supplied oil market, will still bear down on Brent crude prices by end-2026.”
– Key figures at around 1650 GMT –
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 48,684.32 points
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 6,940.69
New York – NASDAQ Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 23,561.52
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 10,223.54 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 8,126.53 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.0 percent at 24,515.73 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 53,322.85 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.1 percent at 27,387.11 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.0 percent at 4,117.95 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1875 from $1.1962 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3716 from $1.3800
Dollar/yen: UP at 154.33 yen from 153.04 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.58 pence from 86.67 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $70.89 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $65.93 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
