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Wall Street is closely watching escalating tensions in the Middle East after President Trump confirmed that the US launched a surprise strike on Iran’s nuclear sites late Saturday, marking the country’s official entry into the two-week-old conflict. Markets have held mostly steady in the aftermath of the escalation, although US stock futures fell across the board when trading opened Sunday evening. Additionally, bitcoin (BTC-USD) prices, often viewed as a barometer of risk appetite, dropped over 1.6% to trade around $100,500 a coin. WTI crude (CL=F) and Brent (BZ=F) futures jumped,...

* Philippine peso falls 1% to 2-month low * Indonesian rupiah down 0.3% ahead of rate decision * Federal Reserve decision due later in the day By Himanshi Akhand June 18 (Reuters) - Emerging Asian currencies lost ground on Wednesday as the dollar held firm on safe-haven demand as the conflict between Israel and Iran entered a sixth day, while investors awaited rate decisions by the Bank Indonesia and the Federal Reserve. Iran and Israel launched new missile strikes at each other, with U.S. President Donald Trump calling for Iran's...

US stock futures fell as investors braced for ongoing Israel-Iran hostilities that could draw in the US, along with the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decision. Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F), the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F), and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) slipped 0.3%. President Trump met with his national security team on Tuesday to discuss Israel and Iran, raising speculation that the US could join Israel's attack. The White House did not provide any details on the meeting, and the president spoke with Israeli Prime...

US stock futures fell as investors braced for ongoing Israel-Iran hostilities that could draw in the US, along with the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decision. Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) slipped 0.2%. Futures attached to the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) fell 0.3%. President Trump met with his national security team on Tuesday to discuss Israel and Iran, raising speculation that the US could join Israel's attack. The White House did not provide any details on the meeting, and the...

The U.S. dollar dropped to its lowest level since April 2022, driven by rising tensions in the Middle East and fragile trade relations between Washington and Beijing. As investors flocked to safe-haven assets, the global stock rally decelerated, with the MSCI All-Country World Index stagnating just below its record high.Oil prices briefly surged by 4% before retreating, influenced by the U.S.'s relocation of personnel from the Middle East due to increased security risks. The ongoing volatility in economic policies prompted concerns, as President Trump's tariffs and fluctuating trade relations...

The dollar's decline extended into Tuesday, as the Federal Reserve's cautious stance on the economic landscape and prospective U.S.-Japan dialogues weighed in. This marked a continuation of plummeting values after Moody's downgraded the U.S. sovereign rating, heightening traders' concerns over the nation's fiscal health.In focus are anticipated U.S.-Japan conversations, where Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato expects discussions with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to tackle currency volatility. Similar issues are likely to surface at the G7 finance meeting in Canada this week.While Australia's decision to cut interest rates saw...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday on Capitol Hill that new trade deals with major partners could be announced as soon as this week. "Many of our trading partners have approached us with very good offers, and we are in the process of renegotiating those," Bessent said, noting that the US is currently in talks with 17 of its 18 key trading partners, with China as the exception. "I'd be surprised if we don't have more than 80% or 90% of those wrapped up by the end of the year,...

The steep recovery in equity markets over the past two weeks is typical of bear market rallies, and the erratic swings mean almost every investor will experience pain whichever direction the market suddenly moves. Goldman Sachs Group (GS) strategist Peter Oppenheimer said “the asymmetry for equity investing is poor. Sharp rallies within bear markets are the norm, not the exception.” The biggest market driver is still uncertainty, with no real long-term bullish or bearish conviction seen from investors. Price action is mainly fueled by short-term headlines and guesswork on how...

Oil prices tumbled more than 2% on Monday over expectations of a supply boost from OPEC+, while trade war-sparked demand worries linger. West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) futures fell more than on Wednesday to trade near $57 a barrel, while Brent crude (BZ=F), the international benchmark, also dropped to near $60 per barrel. Prices declined after members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries on Saturday agreed to boost production levels next month by the same increase as in May. Wall Street anticipates the cartel will likely raise output in July...