Investing.com – Take a peek at the top 6 things that rocked U.S. markets this week.
The Fed left rates unchanged
The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark rate unchanged at 0.75-1% on Wednesday and downplayed the significance of weaker first-quarter economic data, which spurred expectations that the Fed is poised to hike rates in June.
US unemployment fell to a 10-year low
Investors cheered a rebound in the U.S. labor market on Friday, after the Department of Labor said the U.S. economy added 211,000 jobs, which confounded expectations for an increase of 185,000.
The unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since May 2007, dropping to 4.4%, down from 4.5% in March.
Trump scored a major victory
The House of Representatives passed the bill on Thursday, which would replace Obamacare subsidies with a system of tax credits, by a vote of 217 to 213. The bill is widely expected to face intense scrutiny in the Senate.
Gold lost its shine for a third straight week
Gold prices sank to a three-month low on Friday, after a bullish jobs report and the Federal Reserve’s somewhat hawkish statement increased investor sentiment towards risker assets while expectations soared for a June rate hike.
According to investing.com’s Fed rate monitor tool, 74% of traders expect the U.S. central bank to increase its benchmark rate in June compared to roughly 60% of traders in the previous week.
Crude futures crashed 5%
Crude futures plunged 5% on Thursday, wiping out the gains achieved since OPEC and other producers agreed a deal to cut production, as investors’ concerns about the glut in crude stockpiles heightened, ahead of the OPEC meeting later in May.
OPEC is expected to decide at talks on May 25 whether to extend the current deal to cut production for an additional six-months to the end of the year.
The euro rallied to six-month highs
EUR/USD hit a six-month high on Thursday, as investors optimism soared that Emmanuel Macron will garner enough votes to win the French presidency on Sunday, after his strong performance in the final debate against Marine Le Pen on Wednesday.