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Investing.com - The U.S. dollar slipped on Monday in Asia as traders awaited the upcoming Federal Reserve’s policy meeting.

The central bank's latest interest rate announcement, due on Wednesday, will be in focus this week. Traders expect no rate changes, but some believe the central bank could flag plans to ease monetary policy later this year.

Central bank meetings in Europe, the U.K. and Japan are also due this week.

"In addition to the upbeat U.S. data, the dollar is supported by weakness in other currencies, notably the euro and antipodeans," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior FX strategist at IG Securities, in a Reuters report.

"The Fed might cut rates sooner or later but so might its antipodean counterparts as well as the European Central Bank, and such views put the dollar at an advantage."

The U.S. dollar index last traded at 96.990, down 0.1%. It rose to its highest level in almost two weeks on Friday after the release of better-than-expected retail sales data for May.

The USD/CNY pair was little changed at 6.9238. Chinese data on Friday flashed more warning signs, with industrial output growth unexpectedly slowing in May to a more than 17-year low.

On the Sino-U.S. trade front, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said he does not expect a major trade deal between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the upcoming G-20 meeting.

“I think the most that will come out of the G-20 might be an agreement to actively resume talks,” Ross said in an interview Sunday with the Wall Street Journal.

His comments came after Trump said on Friday it didn’t matter if Xi attends the summit, adding that China would eventually make a trade deal with the U.S.

The USD/JPY pair gained 0.1% to 108.59.

The AUD/USD pair and the NZD/USD pair climbed 0.1% and 0.3% respectively.

Investing.com – Israel stocks were lower after the close on Sunday, as losses in the Biomed, Insurance and Financials sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Tel Aviv, the TA 35 fell 0.26%.

The best performers of the session on the TA 35 were Israel Corp (TASE:ILCO), which rose 1.47% or 1210 points to trade at 83640 at the close. Meanwhile, ICL Israel Chemicals Ltd (TASE:ICL) added 1.43% or 27 points to end at 1912 and Elbit Systems Ltd (TASE:ESLT) was up 1.42% or 780 points to 55900 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TASE:TEVA), which fell 5.08% or 161 points to trade at 3010 at the close. Phoenix Holdings Ltd (TASE:PHOE1) declined 2.12% or 46 points to end at 2124 and Nice Ltd (TASE:NICE) was down 1.70% or 860 points to 49740.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange by 203 to 149 and 53 ended unchanged.

Shares in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TASE:TEVA) fell to 5-year lows; down 5.08% or 161 to 3010. Shares in Elbit Systems Ltd (TASE:ESLT) rose to all time highs; gaining 1.42% or 780 to 55900.

Crude oil for July delivery was up 0.46% or 0.24 to $52.52 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in August rose 1.21% or 0.74 to hit $62.05 a barrel, while the August Gold Futures contract rose 0.12% or 1.65 to trade at $1345.35 a troy ounce.

USD/ILS was up 0.26% to 3.6050, while EUR/ILS fell 0.32% to 4.0408.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.56% at 97.540.

By Barani Krishnan

Investing.com - The second tanker attack episode within a month in the Middle East produced interesting results for crude prices last week. The market surged right after Thursday’s attacks in the Gulf of Oman on fears of heightened risk for oil shipments. By the next session though, oil was struggling to hold on to its gains on worries about weak crude demand.

Despite two straight days of gains, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost almost 3% on the week and U.K. Brent 2%.

Analysts provided a variety of reasons for the outcome. Among them was the ongoing U.S.-China trade war and its impact on the global economy; the latest U.S. crude build cited by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday; and the less-than-stellar global oil demand forecast by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its June report Friday.

If there was a common thread running here, it was that even the most terrifying supply scare cannot force you to buy additional oil you have no need for.

And there's a lot of oil -- emphasis added, a lot -- coming to the market in the next few months, if forecasts by the Paris-based IEA and the U.S. EIA are to be believed. Even the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries expects lower demand in the second half for the crude it produces. OPEC is looking to deepen supply cuts when it meets later this month essentially because non-OPEC countries, led by the U.S., are producing more.

On the broader commodities front, what oil couldn't achieve from the tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman gold did.

Both spot and futures of gold blew past the $1,350 resistance on Friday as global tensions from the attacks added to the investor fervor already building in gold from expectations of a Fed rate cut.

Energy Review

Before last week, some analysts were murmuring about reduced geopolitical risk for oil if Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gets to strike a truce between Iran and the United States. Volunteering himself as Trump’s emissary, Abe met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran last week. From what it appears, after the handshakes and pleasantries, Abe was advised by his hosts to go home and focus on Japan’s headaches instead. News of Thursday's tanker attacks, which the U.S. blamed on Iran, came even before Abe's plane took off. Not surprisingly, Trump later said it was "too soon to even think about making a deal" with Iran, which, nevertheless, denied responsibility for the tanker hits.

If anything, the episode in the Gulf of Oman has considerably escalated tensions in the region, without accompanying premium.

Olivier Jakob of the PetroMatrix consultancy in Zug, Switzerland, summed it up succinctly when he observed that since mid-May, there has been an attack on a main Saudi crude oil pipeline and two separate hits on oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz but oil prices had lost more than $10 a barrel in that time.

"Whoever did this, took the precaution to target tankers with cargoes of light petroleum products, avoiding the risk of a major crude oil spill near the shores of Iran," Jakob said.

"In our opinion, product carriers face a greater risk of repeated attacks than crude oil tankers, due to the pollution risk that local malicious actors will try to avoid," he said, adding that freight costs were likely to spike instead of oil prices due to the higher insurance premium for carriers in the Gulf now.

In conclusion, Jakob said: "For now, the war on trade is having a greater impact on oil prices than the war on tankers and market participants refuse to take the tanker attacks seriously, at least until a fully laden crude oil VLCC is hit."

Energy Calendar Ahead

Tuesday, June 18
American Petroleum Institute weekly report on oil stockpiles.

Wednesday, June 19
The EIA weekly report on oil stockpiles.

Thursday, June 20
EIA weekly natural gas report

Friday, June 21
Baker Hughes weekly rig count.

Precious Metals Review

Gold set up its next resistance test at $1,400 an ounce as heightened geopolitical risks in the Middle East pushed the yellow metal to 14-month highs.

Spot gold, reflective of trades in bullion, hit $1,358.13, its highest level since April 2018 last week.

Gold futures for August delivery, traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, hit session highs of $1,361.95.

Gold is a hedge for investors in times of economic and political troubles.

Investors have piled into the yellow metal over the past two weeks on worries that the worsening U.S.-China trade war may tip the world into a recession.

That has, in turn, led to hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to preserve U.S. economic growth, which has been in a record expansion streak of nearly a decade. The Fed will issue its policy statement for June after meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"Tariff tiffs, global economic woes and political headlines also all coming together for investors in gold," said George Gero, precious metals analyst at RBC Wealth Management in New York.

"The Fed may be forced to look deeper into cutting rates."

Precious Metals Calendar Ahead

Monday, June 17

NY Empire State Manufacturing Index (Jun)
U.S. NAHB Housing Market Index (Jun)

Tuesday, June 18

China House Prices (May)
German ZEW (Jun)
Eurozone CPI (May)
U.S. Building Permits; Housing Starts (May)

Wednesday, June 19

U.K. CPI (May)
Federal Reserve Rate Statement, Press Conference

Thursday, June 20

Bank of Japan Rate Decision
Bank of England Rate Decision
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims
Philly Fed Index (Jun)

Friday, June 21

Eurozone PMIs (Jun)
U.S. Manufacturing PMI (Jun)
U.S. Markit Composite PMI
U.S. Services PMI (Jun)
U.S Existing Home Sales (May)

Investing.com - In what is set to be a busy week, the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate announcement will dominate trader’s attention amid expectations that the central bank could flag plans to ease monetary policy.

The Fed will deliver its decision on Wednesday, with most economists expecting no change, but persistent worries over economic fallout from the U.S.-China trade war could prompt the Fed to open the door for a rate cut later this year.

Investors will also be looking at central bank meetings in Europe, the U.K. and Japan, as well as the latest trade developments and economic data.

The dollar index climbed to its highest in almost two weeks on Friday after encouraging retail sales data for May eased fears that the U.S. economy is slowing sharply.

The dollar index against a basket of currencies was last 97.540, up 0.56% on the day and the highest since June 3.

The dollar has recovered in the last week from a weak start to June, as investors consider whether expectations for U.S. interest rate cuts have gotten too far-fetched relative to the data.

With international economic growth slowing, investors are nervous that U.S. President Donald Trump will impose tariffs on Japan and Europe, which could result in more dovish central banks globally and give the dollar a relative advantage.

The U.S. economy is also seen as better placed to handle trade tensions than other countries.

The dollar “has benefited to date from negative globalization news as the domestic side of the U.S. economy has looked sufficiently robust to deal with trade-related headwinds,” Morgan Stanley analysts said in a report on Friday.

“Other countries look less resilient in the face of trade tensions due to higher exposure to global import demand, dependence on manufacturing exports, and underdeveloped domestic demand,” they said.

Chinese data on Friday flashed more warning signs, with industrial output growth unexpectedly slowing in May to a more than 17-year low and investment cooling, underlining a need for more stimulus.

The other major catalyst for the dollar in the near term is whether the United States and China will renew trade negotiations at the G20 summit on June 28-29.

Trump said on Friday it didn’t matter if Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the summit, adding that China would eventually make a trade deal with the United States.

The dollar ended higher against the euro on Friday, with EUR/USD down 0.6% at 1.1207.

It was also higher against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.17% to 108.54 in late trade.

Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of significant events likely to affect the markets.

Monday, June 17

NY Empire State Manufacturing Index (Jun)
U.S. NAHB Housing Market Index (Jun)

Tuesday, June 18

China House Prices (May)
German ZEW (Jun)
Eurozone CPI (May)
U.S. Building Permits; Housing Starts (May)

Wednesday, June 19

U.K. CPI (May)
Federal Reserve Rate Statement, Press Conference

Thursday, June 20

Bank of Japan Rate Decision
Bank of England Rate Decision
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims
Philly Fed Index (Jun)

Friday, June 21

Eurozone PMIs (Jun)
U.S. Manufacturing PMI (Jun)
U.S. Markit Composite PMI
U.S. Services PMI (Jun)
U.S Existing Home Sales (May)

--Reuters contributed to this report

Investing.com - The Federal Reserve policy meeting is expected to be the biggest event for markets this week. Expectations for a rate cut have increased in recent weeks as President Donald Trump's trade policies fueled fears over the prospect of a U.S. recession.

Investors will also be looking at central bank meetings in Europe, the U.K. and Japan, as well as the latest trade developments and economic data.

Here’s what you need to know to start your week.

1. Fed may open door to July rate cut

The Fed will deliver its latest monetary policy decision on Wednesday, with most economists expecting no change, but persistent worries over economic fallout from the U.S.-China trade war could prompt the U.S. central bank to clear the way for a rate cut later this year.

May’s weak jobs report and softer-than-expected inflation data have added to concerns over the economic outlook.

Markets will be watching for any shift in language after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on June 4 that the Fed would act "as appropriate" to address risks from the trade dispute.

The Fed will also release updated economic forecasts, which include its outlook on economic growth and inflation and the dot-plot, which charts the Fed’s official interest rate forecast.

2. ECB, BOE and BOJ

Aside from the Fed, market watchers will have their attention focused on the European Central Bank’s annual three-day meeting in Sintra, Portugal and policy meetings in Japan and Britain.

It was in Sintra two years ago that Mario Draghi sparked a bond selloff by remarking on the euro zone's "strengthening and broadening" economic recovery, but two years later Draghi is winding up his term with little sign of growth or inflation and a real likelihood of more rate cuts.

The Bank of Japan has a policy decision on Thursday, but economists expect it to keep monetary policy on hold.

Similarly, the Bank of England is expected to keep rates unchanged at its policy meeting later Thursday, with some economists watching for a possible split in the vote after a year of unanimous decisions.

3. Economic data to watch

Economic data will continue to be closely watched as investors parse whether the growth outlook warrants central bank action.

China's May house price data and Germany's closely-watched ZEW sentiment index are out Tuesday. Wednesday will bring Japanese export figures and U.K. inflation. Reports on the U.S. Philly Fed business index and British retail sales are due on Thursday along with an early reading of Eurozone consumer confidence for June.

The week ends with a key snapshot of the world's economic health - the Purchasing Managers' Indexes (PMI) of business activity. U.S. manufacturing PMIs are still holding above the 50-mark that indicates an economy is growing. A move below is what everyone is watching for.

4. Trade developments

Trade developments will remain in focus as Congressional hearings on trade tariffs get underway on Monday.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is to testify before the House Ways & Means Committee on Tuesday during a hearing to discuss Trump’s trade agenda.

The hearing will cover “negotiations with China, Japan, the EU, and UK; new NAFTA/USMCA; U.S. participation in the WTO; and other matters,” Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) said in a statement.

The testimony comes amid growing doubts over whether Washington and Beijing will iron out trade issues by the G20 trade conference at the end of the month.

5. Quiet week for earnings

Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE) is due to report second quarter earnings after the close on Tuesday. Analysts on average expect $1.78 a share profit on sales of $2.7 billion. In March, Adobe damped analyst hopes when it gave a profit forecast for the current quarter that fell short of Wall Street’s estimates.

The world’s largest marijuana producer, Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC) and grocer Kroger (NYSE:KR) are due to report on Thursday. Meanwhile, General Electric (NYSE:GE) will hold its GE Aviation & GECAS Investor Day presentation on Tuesday.

--Reuters contributed to this report

Investing.com - Bitcoin rose above the $9,001.9 threshold on Sunday. Bitcoin was trading at 9,001.9 by 00:52 (04:52 GMT) on the Investing.com Index, up 4.39% on the day. It was the largest one-day percentage gain since June 14.

The move upwards pushed Bitcoin's market cap up to $159.9B, or 56.92% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. At its highest, Bitcoin's market cap was $241.2B.

Bitcoin had traded in a range of $8,771.1 to $9,003.0 in the previous twenty-four hours.

Over the past seven days, Bitcoin has seen a rise in value, as it gained 13.64%. The volume of Bitcoin traded in the twenty-four hours to time of writing was $18.8B or 29.60% of the total volume of all cryptocurrencies. It has traded in a range of $7,523.6279 to $9,002.9668 in the past 7 days.

At its current price, Bitcoin is still down 54.70% from its all-time high of $19,870.62 set on December 17, 2017.

Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading

Ethereum was last at $271.10 on the Investing.com Index, up 2.66% on the day.

XRP was trading at $0.41849 on the Investing.com Index, a gain of 3.45%.

Ethereum's market cap was last at $28.9B or 10.30% of the total cryptocurrency market cap, while XRP's market cap totaled $17.8B or 6.33% of the total cryptocurrency market value.

Investing.com - Here’s a look at three things that were under the radar this past week.

1. Inflation, Stocks Prices Seen Slipping

Inflation will ebb and job prospects will improve, but stock prices aren’t likely to follow, according to a recent regional Federal Reserve survey.

The New York Fed’s May survey of consumer expectations showed that consumers expect inflation to decline in the shorter and longer term.

Over the next year, prices are anticipated to rise 2.5%, down from April’s reading of 2.6%. Over three years the outlook is for inflation of 2.6%, down from 2.7% recorded the month before. Both readings are above the Fed’s inflation target of 2%.

“Median inflation uncertainty -- or the uncertainty expressed regarding future inflation outcomes -- increased at both the one-year and three-year horizon,” the New York Fed said.

Looking to the labor market, the perceived probability of finding a job among those unemployed rose to 61.5% in May from 59.3% in April. That’s the highest level since June 2013.

Those with household incomes of more than $50,000 were the most optimistic of gaining new employment.

The percentage of those who expect stock prices to be higher 12 months from now ticked down to 40.8% from 41%.

2. Gold (and Recession Talk) Back in Fashion

Gold, Gold, Gold. The yellow metal has returned to the list of fashionable investments, rounding off the week with its highest close since May last year, as Wall Street sounds the alarm on a possible Trump-spurred recession.

DoubleLine Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlach said he is "certainly long gold" as he predicted a 40% to 50% chance of a U.S. recession within the next six months and a 65% chance of that happening in the next 12 months, in a webcast to clients late Thursday.

The smart money backs Gundlach's bullish call on the precious metal as gold funds, typically bought during times of uncertainty, saw the largest inflow in more than two years last week, data from EPFR showed. S&P 500 funds, meanwhile, saw outflows of $10.3 billion last week.

Gundlach highlighted outgoing trade tensions as one of the reasons for his ominous outlook on the U.S. economy.

And he's not alone.

JPMorgan’s chief quant strategist Marko Kolanovic warned earlier this week that President Donald Trump’s trade battles have cost U.S. companies trillions and could trigger a slump that would likely be dubbed the "Trump recession."

Echoes of a looming recession grew louder as the week progressed, with Morgan Stanley joining in. The bank warned that its Business Conditions Index fell by the most on record in June to a level of 13, nearing levels not seen since the slump of 2008.

Against the backdrop of souring sentiment on growth, investors have raised bets that the Fed will swoop in to save the day. This, too, will keep gold in vogue, according to Ross Norman, chief executive at bullion dealer Sharps Pixley.

Investors are getting ahead of the curve by buying gold in expectation that the Fed will have to reverse its previous tightening policy, by extension pressuring the dollar and lifting gold, Norman added.

3. Oil Output at Record Highs and Expected to Slow Too? Ask the EIA

It's the keeper of all energy statistics in the United States and the market's final arbiter of supply-demand for U.S. oil and gas. Yet some of the Energy Information Administration's recent data and estimates have resulted in more than a few disbelieving traders and analysts .

In its monthly Short-term Energy Outlook issued June 11, the EIA forecasts in a table that 2019 domestic crude production will be at 12.32 million barrels per day, down 1% from its May estimate.

But in the preface of the same document, the agency said it expects production to continue setting new record highs in 2019 and 2020, culminating with an average of 13.5 million bpd by end of 2020.

“Either U.S. oil producers are producing a lot more oil than they say they are, or imports and exports in the reports are being miscounted,” said Phil Flynn, senior energy analyst at the Price Futures Group in Chicago, who’s typically bullish on oil.

It hasn’t been an easy time for oil bulls, who’ve seen the lofty 40% annual gain in crude at April’s highs slashed to around 15%, partly because upward adjustments made by the EIA to its weekly dataset on oil. For the week to June 7, it estimated a record high production of 12.4 million bpd. It also cited a 2-million-barrel build at the Cushing, Okla. storage hub for U.S. crude -- considered unseasonable for this time of year.

“We still believe that we should see draws even with the increasing supply at Cushing,” Flynn said. “The only thing we have to fear is the EIA adjustments itself.”

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Oil&Gas, Technology and Basic Materials sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.07%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.16%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.52%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which rose 1.71% or 3.47 points to trade at 205.82 at the close. Meanwhile, Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) added 1.16% or 0.67 points to end at 58.29 and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was up 0.62% or 1.51 points to 245.39 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW), which fell 3.29% or 1.74 points to trade at 51.14 at the close. Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) declined 2.53% or 1.42 points to end at 54.75 and 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) was down 1.30% or 2.19 points to 166.66.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) which rose 2.17% to 181.33, Ventas Inc (NYSE:VTR) which was up 2.03% to settle at 66.76 and CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE:CF) which gained 1.91% to close at 46.00.

The worst performers were Signet Jewelers Ltd (NYSE:SIG) which was down 5.96% to 17.98 in late trade, F5 Networks Inc (NASDAQ:FFIV) which lost 5.65% to settle at 136.93 and Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) which was down 5.57% to 265.93 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were SSLJ.com Ltd (NASDAQ:YGTY) which rose 32.80% to 3.3200, ArQule Inc (NASDAQ:ARQL) which was up 30.37% to settle at 8.200 and Puyi Inc ADR (NASDAQ:PUYI) which gained 26.07% to close at 7.98.

The worst performers were Sellas Life Sciences Group Inc (NASDAQ:SLS) which was down 57.49% to 0.1600 in late trade, Novus Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:NVUS) which lost 19.85% to settle at 1.0500 and Seres Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:MCRB) which was down 19.43% to 2.28 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1813 to 1180 and 32 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1695 fell and 967 advanced, while 81 ended unchanged.

Shares in Signet Jewelers Ltd (NYSE:SIG) fell to 5-year lows; down 5.96% or 1.14 to 17.98. Shares in Ventas Inc (NYSE:VTR) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 2.03% or 1.33 to 66.76. Shares in Sellas Life Sciences Group Inc (NASDAQ:SLS) fell to all time lows; down 57.49% or 0.2164 to 0.1600. Shares in ArQule Inc (NASDAQ:ARQL) rose to 5-year highs; up 30.37% or 1.910 to 8.200. Shares in Novus Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:NVUS) fell to all time lows; down 19.85% or 0.2600 to 1.0500. Shares in Puyi Inc ADR (NASDAQ:PUYI) rose to all time highs; rising 26.07% or 1.65 to 7.98. Shares in Seres Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:MCRB) fell to all time lows; losing 19.43% or 0.55 to 2.28.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.41% to 15.28.

Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.12% or 1.65 to $1345.35 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July rose 0.46% or 0.24 to hit $52.52 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract rose 1.21% or 0.74 to trade at $62.05 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.59% to 1.1209, while USD/JPY rose 0.17% to 108.56.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.56% at 97.540.

Investing.com – Canada stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Industrials, Financials and Materials sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Toronto, the S&P/TSX Composite added 0.39%.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/TSX Composite were Norbord Inc (TSX:OSB), which rose 9.19% or 2.64 points to trade at 31.38 at the close. Meanwhile, North West Company Inc (TSX:NWC) added 4.75% or 1.42 points to end at 31.31 and West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd . (TSX:WFT) was up 3.58% or 2.15 points to 62.21 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were New Gold Inc (TSX:NGD), which fell 8.57% or 0.090 points to trade at 0.960 at the close. Aphria Inc (TSX:APHA) declined 5.20% or 0.500 points to end at 9.110 and Encana Corporation (TSX:ECA) was down 5.02% or 0.33 points to 6.25.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Toronto Stock Exchange by 547 to 475 and 153 ended unchanged.

Shares in Encana Corporation (TSX:ECA) fell to 3-years lows; down 5.02% or 0.33 to 6.25.

The S&P/TSX 60 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/TSX Composite options, was down 0.58% to 11.99.

Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.12% or 1.65 to $1345.35 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July rose 0.46% or 0.24 to hit $52.52 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract rose 1.21% or 0.74 to trade at $62.05 a barrel.

CAD/USD was down 0.62% to 0.7457, while CAD/EUR fell 0.04% to 0.6650.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.56% at 97.540.

Investing.com - Bitcoin bucked the trend lower in the broader crypto market as it attempted to cement its recent surge above the key $8,000 to entice further buying.

Bitcoin rose 2.21% to $8,358, just a touch below session highs of $8,444.

The move higher comes as analysts continued to talk up the prospect of further gains on the back of a supply shock next year and signs that the use of bitcoin will be more widespread.

The halvening event in 2020 will cut the amount that bitcoin miners receive to 6.25 BTC from the current 12.5 BTC, reducing the total supply in the market.

"What I think might be happening is an anticipation of a coming supply shock in 2020," Alyse Killeen, managing partner of StillMark Capital told Bloomberg. "In 2020 we'll have just half the daily supply of bitcoin that we do now."

"While we're looking ahead to this supply shock and halvening event, we're also seeing greater demand for bitcoin and new on-ramps for more familiar and conventional sources. There's the anticipation that there will be a broader group of users and consumers who have an appetite for bitcoin," Killeen added.

Bitcoin's total market cap, often used to gauge demand, remained steady at $264 billion, unchanged from a day earleir.

Other cryptos failed to mirror bitcoin's move higher. XRP/USD fell 2.48% to $0.39261, ETH/USD lost 1.05% to $256.50 and LTC/USD slipped 3.95% to $127.62.

Investing.com - Broadcom fell sharply Friday, sending chip stocks lower after the company delivered an ominous outlook and reported revenue that fell short of estimates.

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) fell 6.6% to $263 after slipping to a low of $257.47.

The US.-China trade war claimed yet another scalp as Broadcom sounded the alarm on semiconductors, lowering its guidance for the full year to $22.50 billion in revenue from $24.50 billion previously. That missed consensus among analysts for $24.31 billion.

The weaker guidance was accompanied by mixed first-quarter results, with earnings of $5.21 a share topping expectations, but revenue of $5.52 billion falling short.

The company blamed the disappointing quarter on the slowing demand, particularly in China, where its largest clients like Huawei have suffered from U.S. export restrictions.

"We currently see a broad-based slowdown in the demand environment, which we believe is driven by continued geopolitical uncertainties, as well as the effects of export restrictions on one of our largest customers. As a result, our customers are actively reducing their inventory levels and we are taking a conservative stance for the rest of the year," Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said in a statement.

In an ominous sign for the broader chip sector, Broadcom’s biggest business segment, semiconductor solutions, generated revenues of $4.09 billion, missing estimates of $4.18 billion.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC); Xilinx (NASDAQ:XLNX) and Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) are on track to end the day in the red.

In the lead-up to Broadcom's results, the backdrop for semis has been deteriorating, with many analysts surprised that the chipmaker didn't adjust its outlook sooner.

"Broadcom’s reduced full-year revenue guidance is dismissing the 2H recovery thesis articulated by many semiconductor companies earlier this year - ignoring at the time high and still-rising inventories," Baird said.

Investing.com - Attacks on crude tankers in the Middle East may not be doing too much for oil bulls, but those long gold are seeing gains as heightened geopolitical risks push the yellow metal to 14-month highs.

Bullion and futures of gold both blew past the $1,350 psychological resistance on Friday, setting up their next critical test at $1,400. Global tensions from Thursday's attack on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman added to the investor fervor in gold amid expectations of a Fed rate cut.

Spot gold, reflective of trades in bullion, traded at $1,346.97 per ounce by 1:00 PM ET (17:00 GMT), up $4.94, or 0.4%, on the day. It earlier hit $1,358.13, its highest level since April 2018.

Gold futures for August delivery, traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, was up $3.65, or 0.3%, at $1,347.35 per ounce. The session high was $1,361.95.

Gold is a hedge for investors in times of economic and political troubles.

Investors have piled into the yellow metal over the past two weeks on worries that the worsening U.S.-China trade war may tip the world into a recession.

That has, in turn, led to hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to preserve U.S. economic growth, which has been in a record expansion streak of nearly a decade.

"Tariff tiffs, global economic woes and political headlines also all coming together for investors in gold," said George Gero, precious metals analyst at RBC Wealth Management.

"The Fed may be forced to look deeper into cutting rates," Gero said.

In other precious metals trading, the spot price of palladium climbed 1.4% to $1,469.25 per ounce.

The autocatalyst metal has risen about 8% so far this week, its biggest gain since the week ended April 13, 2018.

Investing.com – Germany stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Technology, Media and Software sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Frankfurt, the DAX lost 0.60%, while the MDAX index declined 0.82%, and the TecDAX index lost 1.85%.

The best performers of the session on the DAX were Henkel&Co KGaA AG Pref (DE:HNKG_p), which rose 1.07% or 0.94 points to trade at 88.48 at the close. Meanwhile, Fresenius Medical Care KGAA ST (DE:FMEG) added 0.66% or 0.440 points to end at 66.700 and Linde PLC (DE:LINI) was up 0.53% or 0.950 points to 180.600 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Infineon Technologies AG NA O.N. (DE:IFXGn), which fell 5.29% or 0.803 points to trade at 14.385 at the close. Thyssenkrupp AG O.N. (DE:TKAG) declined 2.53% or 0.305 points to end at 11.770 and BASF SE NA O.N. (DE:BASFN) was down 1.88% or 1.160 points to 60.480.

The top performers on the MDAX were Zalando SE (DE:ZALG) which rose 2.14% to 37.79, Puma SE (DE:PUMG) which was up 1.78% to settle at 54.45 and Metro Wholesale&Food Specialist AG (DE:B4B) which gained 1.31% to close at 15.0650.

The worst performers were Bechtle AG (DE:BC8G) which was down 12.56% to 92.950 in late trade, Siltronic AG (DE:WAFGn) which lost 5.53% to settle at 57.740 and United Internet AG NA (DE:UTDI) which was down 4.50% to 31.650 at the close.

The top performers on the TecDAX were SMA Solar Technology AG (DE:S92G) which rose 3.78% to 24.680, Qiagen NV (DE:QIA) which was up 0.40% to settle at 35.240 and Morphosys AG O.N. (DE:MORG) which gained 0.23% to close at 88.250.

The worst performers were Bechtle AG (DE:BC8G) which was down 12.56% to 92.950 in late trade, Siltronic AG (DE:WAFGn) which lost 5.53% to settle at 57.740 and Infineon Technologies AG NA O.N. (DE:IFXGn) which was down 5.29% to 14.385 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by 446 to 243 and 88 ended unchanged.

Shares in Infineon Technologies AG NA O.N. (DE:IFXGn) fell to 52-week lows; losing 5.29% or 0.803 to 14.385. Shares in Linde PLC (DE:LINI) rose to all time highs; gaining 0.53% or 0.950 to 180.600. Shares in Siltronic AG (DE:WAFGn) fell to 52-week lows; losing 5.53% or 3.380 to 57.740. Shares in Siltronic AG (DE:WAFGn) fell to 52-week lows; losing 5.53% or 3.380 to 57.740. Shares in Infineon Technologies AG NA O.N. (DE:IFXGn) fell to 52-week lows; falling 5.29% or 0.803 to 14.385.

The DAX volatility index, which measures the implied volatility of DAX options, was down 22.77% to 14.92 a new 1-month low.

Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.15% or 2.05 to $1345.75 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July rose 0.78% or 0.41 to hit $52.69 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract rose 1.21% or 0.74 to trade at $62.05 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.60% to 1.1207, while EUR/GBP rose 0.04% to 0.8898.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.57% at 97.553.

Investing.com – Russia stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Oil&Gas, Manufacturing and Telecoms sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Moscow, the MOEX Russia declined 0.69%.

The best performers of the session on the MOEX Russia were Rosseti ao (MCX:RSTI), which rose 5.15% or 0.0700 points to trade at 1.4294 at the close. Meanwhile, Polyus OAO (MCX:PLZL) added 2.53% or 141.0 points to end at 5721.0 and RusHydro JSC (MCX:HYDR) was up 2.46% or 0.0145 points to 0.6030 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were NK Rosneft PAO (MCX:ROSN), which fell 3.32% or 14.00 points to trade at 408.00 at the close. AK Transneft OAO Pref (MCX:TRNF_p) declined 2.31% or 3700 points to end at 156650 and ALROSA ao (MCX:ALRS) was down 1.62% or 1.400 points to 85.100.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Moscow Stock Exchange by 115 to 113 and 17 ended unchanged.

Shares in Rosseti ao (MCX:RSTI) rose to 5-year highs; up 5.15% or 0.0700 to 1.4294. Shares in Polyus OAO (MCX:PLZL) rose to all time highs; up 2.53% or 141.0 to 5721.0. Shares in ALROSA ao (MCX:ALRS) fell to 52-week lows; falling 1.62% or 1.400 to 85.100.

The Russian VIX, which measures the implied volatility of MOEX Russia options, was up 2.29% to 21.930.

Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.52% or 7.05 to $1350.75 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July rose 0.92% or 0.48 to hit $52.76 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract rose 1.32% or 0.81 to trade at $62.12 a barrel.

USD/RUB was down 0.29% to 64.3963, while EUR/RUB fell 0.89% to 72.1689.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.56% at 97.542.

Investing.com – Denmark stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Consumer Goods, Real Estate and Technology sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Copenhagen, the OMX Copenhagen 20 lost 0.88%.

The best performers of the session on the OMX Copenhagen 20 were Tryg A/S (CSE:TRYG), which rose 1.11% or 2.4 points to trade at 218.0 at the close. Meanwhile, DSV (CSE:DSV) added 0.94% or 5.8 points to end at 619.8 and AP Moeller - Maersk A/S B (CSE:MAERSKb) was up 0.44% or 32 points to 7258 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Carlsberg A/S B (CSE:CARLb), which fell 2.87% or 26.0 points to trade at 880.0 at the close. Danske Bank A/S (CSE:DANSKE) declined 1.97% or 2.2 points to end at 109.6 and Novozymes A/S B (CSE:NZYMb) was down 1.61% or 5.0 points to 305.0.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange by 76 to 46 and 23 ended unchanged.

Shares in Tryg A/S (CSE:TRYG) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 1.11% or 2.4 to 218.0.

Crude oil for July delivery was up 0.94% or 0.49 to $52.77 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in August rose 1.34% or 0.82 to hit $62.13 a barrel, while the August Gold Futures contract rose 0.55% or 7.45 to trade at $1351.15 a troy ounce.

USD/DKK was up 0.61% to 6.6620, while EUR/DKK rose 0.01% to 7.4670.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.54% at 97.523.

Investing.com – Turkey stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Telecoms, Metal Products&Machinery and Wholesale&Retail Trade sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Istanbul, the BIST 100 added 0.32%.

The best performers of the session on the BIST 100 were SASA Polyester Sanayi AS (IS:SASA), which rose 6.50% or 0.410 points to trade at 6.720 at the close. Meanwhile, Vestel Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret AS (IS:VESTL) added 5.61% or 0.540 points to end at 10.160 and Pegasus Hava Tasimaciligi AS (IS:PGSUS) was up 3.88% or 1.420 points to 38.020 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Celebi Hava Servisi AS (IS:CLEBI), which fell 4.79% or 4.60 points to trade at 91.40 at the close. Metro Ticari ve Mali Yatirimlar Holding AS (IS:METRO) declined 3.00% or 0.030 points to end at 0.970 and Turkiye Vakiflar Bankasi TAO (IS:VAKBN) was down 2.19% or 0.080 points to 3.580.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Istanbul Stock Exchange by 172 to 171 and 65 ended unchanged.

Shares in Pegasus Hava Tasimaciligi AS (IS:PGSUS) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 3.88% or 1.420 to 38.020.

Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.73% or 9.85 to $1353.55 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July rose 0.88% or 0.46 to hit $52.74 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract rose 1.27% or 0.78 to trade at $62.09 a barrel.

USD/TRY was up 0.36% to 5.8829, while EUR/TRY fell 0.17% to 6.5983.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.48% at 97.460.

Investing.com - Cryptocurrencies saw mixed trade on Friday, but were still on track for a weekly gain of 3% led by Litecoin, Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Cryptocurrencies overall were higher, with the total coin market capitalization at $265.41 billion by 10:39 AM ET (14:39 GMT), compared to $263.10 billion a day earlier and up about 3% from $257.78 billion a week ago.

Litecoin was down 7% at $130.219 on Friday as a bullish rally spurred by its upcoming halving ran out of steam. Known as Bitcoin’s “little brother”, LTC has surged more than 300% this year on plans to half the reward for miners to 12.5 LTC from 25 LTC on Aug. 6. Despite Friday’s decline, the fourth-largest digital coin by market cap showed the best weekly performance when compared to its nine closest rivals, up more than 13%.

Bitcoin was last up 3% at $8,392.7. The 5% weekly gains in the largest crypto by market cap, equivalent to more than half the total market, served as a significant boost for the sector as a whole.

Ethereum managed to still log weekly gains of 2.9% despite a 1.3% decline to $256.59 on Friday.

Stuck by total market cap between Ethereum and Litecoin, XRP was the worst weekly performer out of the top 10 alt coins as Friday’s 1.0% drop to $0.39636 extended its losses in the last seven days to 5.8%.

In crypto sector headlines, The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) has bagged more than a dozen companies to back its new cryptocurrency.

Companies including Visa (NYSE:V), Mastercard (NYSE:MA), PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) and Uber (NYSE:UBER) will reportedly invest around $10 million in a consortium to oversee the social media firm’s digital currency.

The coin will be dubbed Libra and will be pegged to a basket of government-issued currencies in an attempt to avoid the extreme volatility associated with the digital assets.

Investing.com – Wall Street was mixed on Friday as gloomy predictions from Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) weighed on the Nasdaq.

The Dow lost 60 points, or 0.2%, by 9:49 AM ET (13:49 GMT), while the S&P 500 rose 4 points, or 0.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slumped 42 points, or 0.5%.

Broadcom slumped 6.9% after forecasting a slowdown in demand for chips, citing the trade war between the U.S. and China. Most chipmakers have been predicting a stronger second half to the year after a weak first half and Broadcom's warning damages one of the biggest props to sentiment for the sector.

"Broadcom is definitely leading markets lower and that might drive other chips lower as well. Some of it is also about the U.S.-China trade war and the fight over Huawei," said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners.

China’s industrial output growth slowed to its slowest rate in more than 17 years in May, as the world's second-largest economy showed signs of weakening under U.S. trade pressure.

Chipmakers fell, with Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) losing 2.8%, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) slumping 3.1% and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) slipping 1.7%.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) inched down 0.6% after the electric car company lost its autopilot head Zeljko Popovic to Embark, a self-driving trucking startup, while Blue Apron (NYSE:APRN) slumped 10.3% due to a planned 1-to-15 reverse stock split.

In commodities, crude inched up 0.2% to $52.38 a barrel, gold futures rose 0.8% to $1,355.05 a troy ounce, while the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, gained 0.3% to 97.282.

-- Reuters contributed to this report.

Investing.com - Oil prices struggled for direction on Friday, but headed for a weekly decline as fresh signs of expectations for weak demand and a forecast for strong supply growth next year more than offset the tension caused by suspected attacks on tankers off the coast of Iran.

New York-traded West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 19 cents, or 0.4%, to $52.09 a barrel by 8:15 AM ET (12:15 GMT), while Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S. edged forward 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $61.38.

The two blends were headed for a weekly decline of 3.4% and 2.9%, respectively.

The outlook for oil demand growth in 2019 has dimmed due to worsening prospects for world trade, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday in its monthly report.

Although the IEA said that economic stimulus packages should support demand, it noted that “the worsening trade outlook (is) a common theme across all regions."

According to the IEA, U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, the OPEC-led output cut agreement, fighting in Libya and attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman added only y limited uncertainty to supply. It noted that outside of OPEC, global supply will grow by an estimated 2.3 million barrels a day next year, well ahead of a 1.4 million barrel a day rise in global demand.

Simon Derrick, strategist at BNY Mellon, said the 4% spike in oil on the back of the tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday “weren’t particularly dramatic when compared to others seen this year," and added that it was telling that oil-related currencies barely budged on the news.

“My New York-based colleague John Velis has pointed out that the NY Fed’s regular Oil Price Dynamics Report helped highlight that while oversupply had been the key dynamic for oil prices, they were seeing demand factors starting to weaken as well,” Derrick wrote in a note released Friday.

“In other words, oil prices are beginning to react to the possibility of a global slowdown (much as they did in the summer of 2008),” Derrick said.

In other energy trading, gasoline futures rose 0.3% at $1.7255 a gallon by 8:17 AM ET (12:17 GMT), while heating oil traded up 0.4% at $1.81834 a gallon.

Lastly, natural gas futures gained 1.0% at $2.348 per million British thermal unit.

Investing.com – India stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Real Estate, Banking and Auto sectors led shares lower.

At the close in NSE, the Nifty 50 declined 0.76%, while the BSE Sensex 30 index lost 0.73%.

The best performers of the session on the Nifty 50 were Bharti Infratel Ltd (NS:BHRI), which rose 1.53% or 4.15 points to trade at 275.05 at the close. Meanwhile, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NS:SUN) added 0.50% or 1.95 points to end at 392.55 and Vedanta Ltd (NS:VDAN) was up 0.18% or 0.30 points to 169.55 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (NS:ZEE), which fell 4.50% or 15.85 points to trade at 336.50 at the close. IndusInd Bank Ltd. (NS:INBK) declined 4.59% or 68.35 points to end at 1426.80 and Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd (NS:INBF) was down 4.53% or 31.45 points to 672.25.

The top performers on the BSE Sensex 30 were Larsen&Toubro Ltd (BO:LART) which rose 0.80% to 1529.15, Vedanta Ltd (BO:VDAN) which was up 0.74% to settle at 169.60 and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (BO:SUN) which gained 0.58% to close at 392.35.

The worst performers were IndusInd Bank Ltd. (BO:INBK) which was down 4.36% to 1425.10 in late trade, Tata Motors Ltd DVR (BO:TAMdv) which lost 2.78% to settle at 80.50 and Bharti Airtel Ltd (BO:BRTI) which was down 2.74% to 353.30 at the close.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the India National Stock Exchange by 1144 to 434 and 69 ended unchanged; on the Bombay Stock Exchange, 1671 fell and 754 advanced, while 140 ended unchanged.

The India VIX, which measures the implied volatility of Nifty 50 options, was up 1.72% to 13.8950.

Gold Futures for August delivery was up 1.08% or 14.45 to $1358.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July fell 0.34% or 0.18 to hit $52.10 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract fell 0.07% or 0.04 to trade at $61.27 a barrel.

USD/INR was up 0.29% to 69.733, while EUR/INR rose 0.26% to 78.5785.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.08% at 97.080.

Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Paper&Pulp, Railway&Bus and Real Estate sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 0.39%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Chiyoda Corp. (T:6366), which rose 3.13% or 10.0 points to trade at 329.0 at the close. Meanwhile, Sony Corp (T:6758) added 3.07% or 164.0 points to end at 5498.0 and Marui Group Co., Ltd. (T:8252) was up 2.19% or 50.0 points to 2331.0 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Tokyo Dome Corp. (T:9681), which fell 4.07% or 44.0 points to trade at 1038.0 at the close. Maruha Nichiro Corp (T:1333) declined 2.16% or 70.0 points to end at 3175.0 and Tokyo Electron Ltd. (T:8035) was down 1.88% or 280.0 points to 14630.0.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2272 to 1201 and 231 ended unchanged.

Shares in Maruha Nichiro Corp (T:1333) fell to 52-week lows; falling 2.16% or 70.0 to 3175.0.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was unchanged 0.00% to 16.90.

Crude oil for July delivery was down 0.44% or 0.23 to $52.05 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in August fell 0.02% or 0.01 to hit $61.30 a barrel, while the August Gold Futures contract rose 1.20% or 16.15 to trade at $1359.85 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.17% to 108.19, while EUR/JPY fell 0.14% to 122.02.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.02% at 97.018.

Investing.com -- The dollar was lower against the yen and euro early Friday in Europe but higher against risk proxies such as the Aussie dollar as traders shunned risk ahead of a weekend set to be marked by geopolitical tensions.

At 3:40 AM ET (0740 GMT), the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was effectively flat at 96.995, but that masked varying performances against the basket's individual constituents.

Against the yen, the dollar was down 0.2% at 108.20 and closing in on a new 14-month low, while the euro also edged higher against the buck to $1.1281.

The Chinese yuan weakened further in the Asian session, a drop later validated by a disappointing data for industrial production and fixed asset investment in May. At only 5.0%, industrial production grew at its slowest rate since 2002.

China also announced its latest countermeasures in its widening dispute with the U.S., raising import tariffs on certain steel pipes from the U.S. and EU by a factor of 10.

In the U.S., a letter signed by hundreds of companies including Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Target (NYSE:TGT) urged President Donald Trump not to go ahead with his plan to impose tariffs on another $325 billion of Chinese imports, saying they would hit American businesses, farmers and families.

The administration had late on Thursday said it would waive tariffs on bifacial solar panels from Asia, a token de-escalation of tensions given that such panels only account for 3% of the U.S. market, according to Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) strategist UIrich Stephan.

The dollar may see some movement later in the day after a big dump of U.S. data, which includes May retail sales at 8:30 AM ET, May industrial production at 9:15 AM ET and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index at 10 AM ET.

The British pound remains under pressure after the first round of the Conservative Party leadership contest left Boris Johnson as the clear favorite. The pound was 0.1% lower against both the dollar and euro, ahead of a speech later by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney.

Investing.com - Oil prices rose on Friday in Asia after two oil tanker ships off the coast of Iran were attacked.

It wasn't clear who was responsible for the latest hit. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of carrying out the attacks, calling the Islamic Republic "a threat to international peace and stability". An Iranian official was quoted saying by the BBC that Tehran had "nothing to do" with the attacks.

U.S. Crude Oil WTI Futures were up 0.4% to $52.47 by 12:40 AM ET (04:40 GMT). International Brent Oil Futures gained 0.7% to $61.72.

Oil prices were under pressure earlier this week after weekly data showed another big jump in U.S. crude stockpiles. Ongoing demand fears amid Sino-U.S. trade tension were also cited as a headwind.

In other news, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Thursday cut its forecast for oil demand growth in 2019 from 1.21 million barrels per day (bpd) to 1.14 million bpd. The cartel noted that “significant downside risks from escalating trade disputes spilling over to global demand growth remain.”

“In my opinion, this is significant news and should not be faded though it’s not very impressive that we have yet to even surpass yesterday’s losses,” said Scott Shelton, energy futures broker at ICAP (LON:NXGN) in Durham, N.C. “Get ready for lots of misinformation and media coverage that know very little about oil which will only add to the volatility.”

Elsewhere, citing Russian energy minister Alexander Novak, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported that OPEC and other producers including Russia are in talks to cooperate on oil supplies on a long-term basis.

Investing.com - The U.S. dollar steadied on Friday in Asia as traders await a Federal Reserve meeting next week.

The U.S. dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies was up 0.06% to 97.060 by 12:10 AM ET (04:10 GMT).

The Fed is expected to keep rates unchanged at its meeting on June 19, but markets believe the likelihood of a rate cut before the end of the year has increased due to slowing inflation and rising trade tensions.

On the Sino-U.S. trade front, U.S. President Donald Trump declined to set a deadline on increasing import tariffs on Chinese goods, insisting that the two countries would eventually make a deal but taking responsibility for the delay in the meantime.

“I have no deadline. My deadline is what’s up here,” he said, pointing to his head at a press conference on Wednesday.

He previously said a deal would not be signed unless China returns to terms agreed earlier this year.

U.S. retail sales data, which is due later in the day, is also expected to be in focus.

The USD/CNY pair was up 0.04% to 6.9198.

China will release May industrial production along with retail sales and investment numbers at 07:00 GMT.

Markets expect industrial production in China to have risen 5.5% in May from 5.4% in April and believe retail sales increased 8.1% from 7.2% the previous month.

The AUD/USD pair fell 0.2% to 0.6900. The NZD/USD pair decline 0.5% to 0.6535.

The USD/JPY pair slipped 0.1% to 108.30.

Investing.com - Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) reported second quarter earnings that matched analysts' expectations on Thursday and revenue that fell short of forecasts.

The firm reported earnings per share of $5.21 on revenue of $5.52B. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of $5.21 on revenue of $5.69B. That compared to EPS of $4.88 on revenue of $5.02B in the same period a year earlier. The company had reported EPS of $5.55 on revenue of $5.79B in the previous quarter.

Broadcom follows other major Technology sector earnings this month

On June 4, Salesforce.com reported first quarter EPS of $0.93 on revenue of $3.74B, compared to forecasts of EPS of $0.61 on revenue of $3.69B.

NVIDIA earnings beat analysts' expectations on May 16, with first quarter EPS of $0.88 on revenue of $2.22B. Investing.com analysts expected EPS of $0.57 on revenue of $2.2B

Stay up-to-date on all of the upcoming earnings reports by visiting Investing.com's earnings calendar

Investing.com - Cannabis shops in Quebec registered C$71 million in sales in their first fiscal year of operation, more than the dispensaries in any other province.

Despite the high level of sales, the provincial network of shops, known as the Société Québécoise du cannabis (SQDC), ended the period from June 12, 2018, to March 30 with a $4.9-million deficit, which is covered by the provincial government. The shops did, however, collect $29.7 million in consumption and excise taxes in the same period, according to a statement issued by SQDC yesterday.

Since opening in October 2018 when marijuana became legal, the stores registered $57.6 million in sales, which represent 8 metric tonnes of cannabis. The network also registered $13.7 million in sales online, or 1.9 metric tonnes of weed. In all, there were 1.557 million transactions recorded, including 1.3 million in stores and 257,000 online. The average purchase in store totalled $51.07, including taxes, while the average single purchase online totalled $61.06.

The SQDC said it will show a profit in the coming year, with the Quebec government pegging its expected earnings at $20 million, and addition revenues of $89 million from consumption and excise taxes.

By Barani Krishnan

Gold’s rally seems to have legs, with $1,350 appearing the next target for believers in the yellow metals amid the cacophony pressuring the Federal Reserve into a rate cut.

Bullion and futures of gold rose again on Thursday, a day after data showing tame U.S. consumer prices in May that strengthened the case for a Fed monetary easing.

Spot gold, reflective of trades in bullion, traded at $1,345.75 per ounce by 2:10 PM ET (18:10 GMT), up $8.95, or 0.7%, on the day.

Gold futures for August delivery, traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, settled up $6.90, or 0.5%, at $1,343.70 per ounce. It hit a near one week high of $1,345.95 earlier.

Some gold pundits think gold could go on to break $1,400 if the Fed issues a dovish policy statement after its June 19 meeting. Spot gold scaled an April 2018 high of $1,348.34 last Friday.

Lower interest rates make safe-haven assets such as gold, which does not yield interest, more attractive while weighing on the dollar.

If gold does not lose its momentum, it has a chance of finishing up for a fourth straight week. While the week-to-date gain itself is modest at 0.3%, the yellow metal has advanced 3% so far for June, putting it on to track to its best month since December’s 4.6% gain.

Gold’s rally comes as U.S. inflation growth continues to underperform Fed expectations. The central bank has also come under increased pressured to cut rates after less-than-stellar U.S. jobs data for May. Also President Trump has been criticizing the Fed for raising rates during his term. The president says the Fed’s reduction of its $3.8 trillion asset portfolio has harmed the economy and put the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage.

Investing.com -- Bitcoin held above the key $8,000 level on Thursday and looked to set resume its weekly winning streak following a slump last week.

Bitcoin rose 0.40% to $8,180, to remain within touching distance of its session high of $8,208. For now, staying above the $8,000 remains key for a push higher, analysts said.

"The price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency surged to the upside on Wednesday and cleared the key $8,000 resistance level - this could indicate that Bitcoin is on the verge of the next bull run,” said Nigel Green, chief executive of deVere Group.

Green is not the only talking up the prospect of further gains for the popular currency. Others highlight that a key bitcoin indicator is signalling a long-term rally could be in the offering.

The 50-candle moving average on the three-day chart of bitcoin is trending north and could soon cross above the 100-candle, confirming a bullish crossover – the first since October 2015, according to Coindesk market reporter Omkar Godbole.

While the bullish indicator tends to lag prices, as moving average are backward-looking measure, it does warrant attention, Godbole added. The last time this indicator rose to fore, bitcoin embarked on a 2.3-year long rally.

Bitcoin market cap, often used to gauge demand, rose to $145 billion up from about $142 a day earlier, suggesting that traders are seemingly reluctant to pull funds.

Other cryptos were mostly higher; XRP/USD rose 0.8% to $0.40158, ETH/USD added 1.69% to $260.83 and LTC/USD slipped 2.74% to $133.64.

Investing.com – Shares of Disney racked up gains on Thursday, as Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) said it expected the media giant's streaming services would win over new subscribers faster than previously expected.

Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) to $160 from $135, sending its shares up 4.2% higher by 1:25 p.m. ET (17:12 GMT). The bullish view on Disney comes as the media giant has expedited the launch of its streaming service, Disney+, and bolstered its catalog of content.

Disney has been the top performer among stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday, adding about 39 points to the Dow's 97-point gain.

The investment house estimates that Disney+ should bring in 130 million global subscribers by 2024, in line with company's own new guidance.

"Our willingness to underwrite these higher DTC (direct-to-consumer) estimates stems from 1) a faster-than-expected global launch, 2) more IP aggregated more quickly than anticipated, and 3) a plan to leverage third-party distribution," Morgan Stanley said.

Despite the U.S. launch of Disney+ still months away, there has been much fanfare over its upcoming streaming service.

A survey by Ampere Analysis last week revealed that customer awareness of the service is widespread, and a significant part of those polled plan to subscribe for the digital platform when it launches in November. More than 1,000 respondents were polled, with 22% confirming plans to subscribe to the service.

With the streaming wars set to widen in the months to come, Wall Street is seemingly betting on Disney to lead the charge against leader Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), whose growth in its core U.S. market has come under scrutiny.

“Netflix appears to be nearing its peak subscriber point in the U.S.,” said PwC in its Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2019–2023 report, released earlier this month. "The first-mover advantage in streaming video that Netflix has capitalized on to date continues to be eroded, as the industry begins to fragment, with more and more companies entering the market, from pay-TV heavyweights to specialized, niche players,” PwC added.

Disney+ is expected to launch in North America on Nov, 12.

Disney shares are up about 28.4% this year, fourth best among the Dow stocks, after ending 2018 with just a 2% gain.

Investing.com – Germany stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Construction, Software and Pharmaceuticals&Healthcare sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Frankfurt, the DAX rose 0.45%, while the MDAX index gained 0.12%, and the TecDAX index added 0.83%.

The best performers of the session on the DAX were Heidelbergcement AG O.N. (DE:HEIG), which rose 2.11% or 1.430 points to trade at 69.140 at the close. Meanwhile, Fresenius SE&Co KGAA O.N. (DE:FREG) added 1.85% or 0.840 points to end at 46.200 and Covestro AG (DE:1COV) was up 1.71% or 0.710 points to 42.250 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were RWE AG ST O.N. (DE:RWEG), which fell 1.28% or 0.295 points to trade at 22.775 at the close. Continental AG O.N. (DE:CONG) declined 0.99% or 1.25 points to end at 125.41 and Infineon Technologies AG NA O.N. (DE:IFXGn) was down 0.84% or 0.128 points to 15.197.

The top performers on the MDAX were Evotec AG O.N. (DE:EVTG) which rose 2.18% to 22.950, Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG (DE:PBBG) which was up 2.15% to settle at 10.93 and Deutsche Wohnen AG (DE:DWNG) which gained 1.97% to close at 37.220.

The worst performers were Aurubis AG (DE:NAFG) which was down 7.95% to 37.850 in late trade, Prosiebensat 1 Media AG (DE:PSMGn) which lost 4.76% to settle at 14.8000 and Deutsche Euroshop AG (DE:DEQGn) which was down 4.56% to 25.520 at the close.

The top performers on the TecDAX were Nordex SE O.N. (DE:NDXG) which rose 3.19% to 13.250, SMA Solar Technology AG (DE:S92G) which was up 2.94% to settle at 23.780 and SLM Solutions Group AG (DE:AM3D) which gained 2.69% to close at 10.70.

The worst performers were Siltronic AG (DE:WAFGn) which was down 1.64% to 61.120 in late trade, Infineon Technologies AG NA O.N. (DE:IFXGn) which lost 0.84% to settle at 15.197 and S&T AG (DE:SANT1) which was down 0.66% to 21.08 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by 384 to 309 and 83 ended unchanged.

Shares in Aurubis AG (DE:NAFG) fell to 3-years lows; losing 7.95% or 3.270 to 37.850.

The DAX volatility index, which measures the implied volatility of DAX options, was down 3.17% to 14.99 a new 1-month low.

Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.52% or 6.95 to $1343.75 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July rose 2.05% or 1.05 to hit $52.19 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract rose 1.90% or 1.14 to trade at $61.11 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.10% to 1.1276, while EUR/GBP fell 0.02% to 0.8892.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.06% at 97.032.