On Wednesday, Iran and Oman were reportedly close to reaching an agreement on navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, the U.S. “Small Nonfarm” report for July hit a new low for the year.
The U.S. Dollar Index fluctuated lower, eventually closing down 0.18% at 99.68. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note remained nearly flat, closing at 4.618%; the yield on the 2-year U.S. Treasury note, which is sensitive to the Fed’s policy rate, edged lower, closing at 4.192%.
Spot gold surged strongly, at one point soaring more than $200 from its intraday low, and ultimately closed up 4.16% at $4,247.02 per ounce—marking its largest single-day gain since early February of this year and regaining its 50-day moving average;Spot silver broke above the $62 mark, ultimately closing up 4.26% at $62.06 per ounce.
International oil prices traded sideways, with headlines about attacks on oil tankers and tensions in the Strait of Hormuz continuing to unsettle the oil market.WTI crude oil rose before retreating, ultimately closing nearly flat at $74.32 per barrel; Brent crude oil closed up 0.61% at $78.90 per barrel.
The three major U.S. stock indices posted mixed results, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing up 0.49%,the S&P 500 fell 0.17%, and the Nasdaq dropped 0.8%. SpaceX (SPCX.O) fell 13.6%. Nvidia (NVDA.O) rose 3.4%, SK Hynix (SKHY.O) fell 2%,AMD (AMD.O) fell 7%, and SanDisk (SNDK.O) fell 5%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed down 1.08%, with Xpeng (XPEV.N) and NIO (NIO.N) both down 2%.