Stock Market Update
18-Jul-25 14:00 ET
Gold edges higher as dollar softens, rate cut hopes linger despite strong data
Dow -219.61
at 44264.88,
Nasdaq -18.86
at 20865.41,
S&P -7.35
at 6290.01
[BRIEFING.COM] The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (-0.09%) is in first place among the major averages, only down 19 points.
Gold futures settled $13.00 higher (+0.4%) at $3,358.30/oz, down then about -0.2% on the week; a softer U.S. dollar helped boost international demand, while ongoing geopolitical and trade tensions supported safe-haven interest. Although U.S. economic data came in strong, with retail sales up 0.6% and jobless claims still low, comments from Fed Governor Waller and market expectations suggest there is still a chance of a rate cut by the end of July. That outlook helped offset some of the recent pressure on prices tied to rising real yields and rate uncertainty.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index is down about -0.2% to $98.44.
