Wall Street steadies, ends Thurday with modest gains
Big News Network.com
13 Jun 2025

NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks rose modestly on Thursday while the U.S. dollar sank to its lowest level in 3 years after President Donald Trump told Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell he should implmnent a jumbo rate cut.
"If it's going to go up, I'm OK with you raising, but it's down, and we're going out to financing, and I may have to force something," Trump said he told Powell. When asked, the president said he would not fire Powell.
"We still think the primary driver for market direction and to break out to all-time highs would be some resolution for tariffs and how they interlink with the budget and the Fed. And we see a lot of headlines about negotiations or pauses or frameworks, but we still haven't seen a single signed trade deal between the U.S. and its trade partners," Tom Hainlin, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Asset Management Group told CNBC Thursday.
"So for us, we still see us sitting within our base case of uncertainty around how trade negotiations go. Market's kind of range bound in wide ranges, but really lacking that durable breakout until we get some conclusion," Hainlin said.
U.S. Markets Edge Upward
The Standard and Poor's 500 (^GSPC) climbed 23.02 points (0.38 percent) to close at 6,045.26, marking its fourth consecutive day of gains. The benchmark index was buoyed by strength in technology and consumer discretionary sectors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 101.85 points (0.24 percent) to 42,967.62, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained 46.61 points (0.24 percent) to 19,662.48, as mega-cap tech stocks continued to show resilience.
Market Drivers
Trading volumes were robust Thursday, with the S&P 500 seeing 2.548 billion shares change hands, while Nasdaq turnover reached 15.356 billion shares. The positive sentiment came despite mixed economic data, as investors appeared to focus on expectations that the Federal Reserve might begin cutting interest rates later this year.
Global Forex Markets Show U.S. Dollar in Decline on Thursday
The U.S. dollar faced broad selling pressure on Thursday, declining against all major currencies as traders adjusted positions ahead of key economic data.
Euro and Pound Strengthen Against the Dollar
The euro (EUR/USD) rose sharply, climbing 0.77 percent to 1.1575, marking its strongest gain in weeks. Meanwhile, the British pound (GBP/USD) advanced 0.47 percent to 1.3600, supported by improving risk sentiment in British and European markets.
Dollar Slips Against Yen, Swiss Franc
The US dollar (USD/JPY) fell 0.66 percent against the Japanese yen, trading at 143.57, as investors sought safe-haven assets amid geopolitical uncertainty. The greenback also dropped sharply against the Swiss franc (USD/CHF), losing 1.09 percent to 0.8111, its biggest daily decline in over a month.
Commodity Currencies Gain
The Australian dollar (AUD/USD) rose 0.43 percent to 0.6527, while the New Zealand dollar (NZD/USD) jumped 0.61 percent to 0.6062, supported by stronger commodity prices.
Canadian Dollar Edges Higher
The US dollar (USD/CAD) dipped 0.45 percent to 1.3606, as the Canadian dollar benefited from stabilizing oil prices.
Market Outlook
Analysts attributed the dollar's mixed performance to shifting expectations around Federal Reserve policy, with traders awaiting key US inflation data for further direction.
Global Markets Close Mixed Thursday; Asia-Pacific Indices Show Divergence
Global stock markets delivered a mixed performance on Thursday, with European and Asian indices showing varied trends amid shifting investor sentiment.
Canadian Market
North of the U.S. border, Canada's S&P/TSX Composite (^GSPTSE) advanced 91.59 points (0.35 percent) to 26,615.75, supported by gains in financial and energy stocks.
UK AND Europe
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) in London edged higher, gaining 20.57 points (0.23 percent) to close at 8,884.92.
However, Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) fell sharply, dropping 177.45 points (0.74 percent) to 23,771.45, while France's CAC 40 (^FCHI) dipped slightly by 10.79 points (0.14 percent) to 7,765.11.
The broader Euro Stoxx 50 (^STOXX50E) declined 32.33 points (0.60 percent) to 5,360.82, and Belgium's BEL 20 (^BFX) lost 19.91 points (0.44 percent) to 4,518.74.
Asia and Pacific
Asian markets were mixed, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng (^HSI) plunging 331.56 points (1.36 percent) to 24,035.38, while Singapore's STI Index (^STI) inched up 3.15 points (0.08 percent) to 3,922.20.
In Japan the Nikkei 225 (^N225) retreated 248.10 points (0.65 percent) to 38,173.09, while China's SSE Composite (000001.SS) barely moved, adding just 0.34 points (0.01 percent) to 3,402.66.
In Australia the S&P/ASX 200 (^AXJO) slipped 27 points (0.31 percent) to 8,565.10, and the All Ordinaries (^AORD) fell 23.70 points (0.27 percent) to 8,796.00.
India's Sensex (^BSESN) dropped 823.16 points (1.00 percent) to 81,691.98, while in Indonesia the IDX Composite (^JKSE) declined 18.09 points (0.25 percent) to 7,204.37.
In contrast, Malaysia's KLSE (^KLSE) rose 2.78 points (0.18 percent) to 1,526.62, and in New Zealand the NZX 50 (^NZ50) climbed 43.17 points (0.34 percent) to 12,649.10.
South Korea's KOSPI (^KS11) gained 12.99 points (0.45 percent) to 2,920.03, but in Taiwan the TWSE (^TWII) fell 182.28 points (0.81 percent) to 22,287.82.
Middle East & Africa
Israel's TA-125 (^TA125.TA) saw a steep decline, losing 48.52 points (1.76 percent) to 2,705.88, while in Egypt the EGX 30 (^CASE30) dropped 423.50 points (1.29 percent) to 32,511.70.
South Africa's Top 40 (^JN0U.JO) rose 36.33 points (0.68 percent) to 5,406.16, marking one of the day's stronger performers.
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