(AFP) – Gold and silver prices dived Friday and European stock markets ended the week up, while Wall Street pulled back 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 announced his choice Friday on social media, saying that Warsh, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker and Fed governor, “will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best.”
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 fueled widespread fears among investors that the central bank’s policy independence is under threat, potentially posing an inflation risk to the US economy.
**- A roller-coaster 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 fell as much as 12 percent at one point, retreating below $5,000 an ounce after hitting a record high near $5,600 on Thursday. Silver, which Thursday reached an all-time peak above $120 an ounce, shed around 30 percent to about $82 an ounce. Financial markets have endured a roller-coaster 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 amid renewed concerns over vast investments in artificial intelligence. Healthy earnings from Meta, Samsung, and SK Hynix provided much cheer early in the week, but Microsoft was punished over worries its costly AI program might not result in financial gains. 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-fueled rally.
The dollar pushed higher on Warsh’s nomination. “Most currency strategists would argue that his nomination may be good news for the dollar, which can price out some risks of a more dovish pick,” said Forex.com’s Fawad Razaqzada. “However, for as long as policy uncertainty hangs over the US economy with Trump’s tariff theatrics, the dollar debasement narrative is likely to hold back the greenback from making a meaningful comeback.” Among individual companies, Verizon surged 11.8 percent as it reported its highest quarter of mobility and broadband subscription increases since 2019.
**- Key figures at around 2110 GMT -**
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 48,892.47 (close)
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 6,939.03 (close)
New York – NASDAQ Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 23,461.82 (close)
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 0.9 percent at 24,538.81 (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 $1.1856 from $1.1929 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3688 from $1.3772
Dollar/yen: UP at 154.64 yen from 153.61 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 86.63 pence from 86.62 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at $70.69 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $65.21 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
