On Wednesday, as a series of U.S. economic data releases fueled market expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike, the U.S. Dollar Index rose steadily throughout the day and accelerated its gains ahead of the U.S. trading session, returning above the 99 mark. It ultimately closed up 0.26% at 99.15;The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield closed up 1.6 basis points at 4.649%, while the 2-year U.S. Treasury yield—which is sensitive to the Fed’s policy rate—closed up 3.7 basis points at 4.220%.
Due to a stronger U.S. dollar, spot gold retreated, falling to near the $4,600 level, and ultimately closed down 1.38% at $4,594.47 per ounce; spot silver closed down 0.8% at $68.11 per ounce.
Crude oil continued to fluctuate during the Asian and European trading sessions, but both WTI and Brent crude saw a short-term rally following reports that Iran and Oman were discussing the details of an agreement regarding the Strait of Hormuz.WTI crude briefly surged to $82 during the session but subsequently gave back some of its gains, ultimately closing up 0.93% at $81.43 per barrel; Brent crude ultimately closed up 0.6% at $86.37 per barrel.
The three major U.S. stock indices closed slightly lower: the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.21%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.02%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.08%. Tesla (TSLA.O) fell 1%,Oracle (ORCL.N) rose 2.8%, NVIDIA (NVDA.O) fell more than 1%, and SK Hynix (SKHY.O) fell nearly 1%. The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index closed down 0.6%, with iQIYI (IQ.O) falling more than 4%.