On Monday, Federal Reserve officials sent hawkish signals. St. Louis Fed President Musalem said, “Further rate hikes may be needed to curb inflation,” while Chicago Fed President Goolsbee also stated that if inflation does not subside, rate hikes will be necessary.
The U.S. Dollar Index fluctuated higher during the day, ultimately closing up 0.21% at 100.42.The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 4.2 basis points, closing at 4.955%; the yield on the 2-year U.S. Treasury note, which is sensitive to the Fed’s policy rate, rose 0.5 basis points to 4.757%.
The strengthening U.S. Dollar Index weighed on non-interest-bearing assets. Spot gold maintained a downward trend throughout the day, ultimately closing down 0.79% at $4,343.73 per ounce; spot silver closed down 0.34% at $66.02 per ounce.
Driven by optimism over the expected swift resumption of oil flows through Saudi Arabia’s damaged “East-West Oil Pipeline” and progress in U.S.-Iran efforts to restart negotiations, international oil prices fell for the fourth consecutive trading day.WTI crude plunged 3.80% to $91.64 per barrel; Brent crude ultimately closed down 2.90% at $100.07 per barrel.
In the U.S. stock market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.71%, the S&P 500 rose 1.49%, and the Nasdaq gained 2.26%, setting a new closing high. Intel (INTC.O) rose 12%, Meta Platforms (META.O) rose 11%,Qualcomm (QCOM.O) rose 9%, Tesla (TSLA.O) gained 3%, and AMD (AMD.O) rose nearly 10%. The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index closed up 0.7%, with Alibaba (BABA.N) rising more than 2%.