The Dow Jones closed higher, still supported by hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) would slow interest rate hikes after lower-than-expected U.S. inflation data in October.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 33,747.86 points, up 32.49 points, or +0.10%.
- The S&P500 closed at 3,992.93 points, an increase of 36.56 points, or +0.92%.
- Nasdaq closed at 11,323.33 points, up 209.18 points, or +1.88%.
Crude oil futures closed higher. This was supported by China’s announcement to ease COVID-19 control measures which will support domestic oil demand. Oil futures are also supported by the weakening of the dollar.
- WTI crude futures rose $2.49, or 2.9%, to close at $88.96 per barrel, but were still down 3.9% for the week.
- BRENT crude futures rose $2.32, or 2.5%, to $95.99 per barrel, but were still down 2.6% for the week.
Gold futures closed higher, supported by the weakening of the dollar after the release of inflation figures from the U.S., which were lower than expected. This could be a factor that encourages the Federal Reserve (Fed) to slow down its rate hike.
- Gold futures rose $15.70, or 0.9%, to $1,769.40 per ounce. This is the highest close since August 25, 2022, and for the week, gold futures rose 5.5%.
- Silver futures were down 3.5 cents, or 0.16%, at $21.667 an ounce.
- Platinum futures fell $16.9, or 1.6%, to settle at $1,038.1 per ounce.
- Palladium futures rose $72.30, or 3.7%, to settle at $2,026.50 an ounce.
The U.S. dollar fell sharply against the other currencies after the release of lower-than-expected inflation data.
- The dollar index against the six major currencies in a basket of currencies fell 1.76% to 106.2950.
- The dollar was weaker against the yen at 138.53 yen from 141.84 yen.
- The US dollar weakened against the Swiss franc to 0.9412 francs from 0.9666 francs.
- The US dollar was lower against the Canadian dollar at 1.3248 Canadian dollars from 1.3352 Canadian dollars.
- The US dollar was also weak against the Swedish krona at 10.3512 krona from 10.6139 krona.
- The euro was stronger against the dollar at $1.0366 from $1.0183.
- The pound was higher at $1.1854 from $1.1696.