S&P 500, Gold Prices, US Dollar, FOMC Minutes, NZD/USD, RBNZ Rate Hike?
Stocks on Wall Street mostly ended on an upbeat this past week, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rising about +0.71% and +0.87% respectively. It was the tech sector that underperformed, with the Nasdaq Composite falling about -0.09%. An initial push higher in Treasury yields helped bolster cyclical shares, but that narrative slightly reversed on Friday.
The worst Michigan consumer sentiment reading since 2011 casted a shadow of doubt over the health of the US economic recovery despite a recently rosy non-farm payrolls report. The US Dollar took a hit, underperforming its major counterparts. The drop in global yields on Friday was relatively beneficial to the Japanese Yen, which outshined its peers to wrap up the week.
Gold prices were also quick to take advantage of a weaker US Dollar and falling government bond yields, further reversing a flash crash experienced at the beginning of last week. Growth-linked crude oil…