Investing.com – Take a peek at the top 5 things that rocked U.S. markets this week.
No love for the greenback amid slump to 13-month low
The dollar slumped to its lowest level in over year against its rivals, amid a surge in the euro to 2-year highs after expectations grew that the European Central Bank (ECB) was edging closer to tapering its loose monetary policy while renewed U.S. political uncertainty weighed on sentiment.
The euro raced to a 2-year high against the greenback rising 0.29% to $1.1666 on Friday, as traders dismissed ECB president Mario Draghi’s attempt to add a dovish slant on expectations that the ECB is poised to discuss tapering its bond-buying programme in September.
"We were unanimous in setting no precise date for when to discuss changes in the future," Draghi told a press conference Thursday. "We simply said that our discussions should take place in the autumn."
Adding to negative sentiment on the dollar were reports suggesting that U.S. President Donald Trump’s private business is set to come under scrutiny as special counsel Robert Mueller will expand investigations into allegations that Russia influenced the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Gold notched biggest weekly gain in two weeks
Gold futures rose for the second-straight week, as heavy selling in the dollar and US political jitters fueled demand for the precious metal.
Gold’s recent stretch of gains comes in the wake of an uptick in safe-haven demand, following timid economic data suggesting that the Federal Reserve may struggle to keep to its plan to hike rates at least once more this year.
“Amid rising evidence of price and growth risks, [investors] are now being replaced by safe-haven buyers,” Peter Grant, chief market analyst with gold broker USAGOLD said.
Bitcoin tested record highs, Ethereum rallied after ‘Sunday slump’
Bitcoin spiked close to record highs on Friday, on the back of growing expectations that the digital currency will avert a possible split, after data showed that 93% of bitcoin miners had signalled their support for a key proposal aimed at improving the bitcoin network.
Earlier in the week, Bitcoin had slumped below $1,800 amid fears over the popular digital currency’s future, as investors were uncertain as to whether SegWit2x, a proposal aimed at speeding up transactions on the bitcoin network would garner enough support.
Ethereum, mirrored bitcoin’s move higher, snapping a four-week losing streak, after recovering from lows of $130.26 sustained on Sunday.
Oil erased gains to post weekly loss
Crude futures tumbled 2.5% on Friday, as investors questioned Opec’s commitment to reduce the glut in supply, after data surfaced showing that the oil-cartel’s supply was set to rise compared to June.
Prior to Friday’s slump, oil prices were set to notch a weekly gain, following a rally earlier during the week on the back of a report from the Energy Information Administration showing US crude stockpiles fell by more than expected.
The weekly loss comes ahead of an Opec meeting slated for July 24.
Nasdaq notched key milestone
As well as posting an all-time high on Thursday, the NASDAQ capped a 10-day winning streak for the first time since Feb 2015, buoyed by mostly upbeat corporate earnings.
The tech-heavy index rallied as better-than-expected earnings from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) offset a timid earnings report from IBM (NYSE:IBM).
Investor sentiment soured in the latter part of the week, however, as investors appeared reluctant to initiate large positions as equities remained close to record highs ahead of key earnings next week, including earnings from Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL) after markets close Monday.