TL;DR: Risk assets bounced (US stocks up), while “shiny stuff” (gold/silver) and oil got whacked as hawkish Fed expectations + a stronger dollar bullied anything priced in USD—because markets can’t just have one mood per day.
Stocks (US)
- US equities rebounded after recent volatility: the S&P 500 finished up about +0.5%, the Dow about +1.1%, and the Nasdaq about +0.6%. 📈
- Driver: a classic “panic, then remember stocks exist” session—helped by better-than-expected US manufacturing data that nudged yields higher and reduced immediate recession jitters. (Yes, markets cheered a number on a spreadsheet.) 🗂️
- Rotation vibe: money leaned more “grown-up” (industrials/old economy) rather than pure-duration growth—because when yields perk up, long-duration dreams get discounted like day-old pastries. 🥐
International Stocks
- Europe generally held up better, with the UK’s FTSE 100 closing at a record high on strength in banks/retail/travel—even while metals were doing a swan dive. 🇬🇧
- Driver: sector mix helped (less mega-tech dependency), plus a “risk-on, but selectively” tone as investors tried to pretend everything is totally fine. 🎭
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin snapped back after tagging a ~10-month low (around the mid-$74k area intraday) and rebounded toward the high-$70k’s. 🪙
- Main reason: markets are repricing the macro backdrop after Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh for Fed Chair—seen as more hawkish (higher-for-longer energy), which is basically crypto’s least-favorite bedtime story. 🛌
- Sidekick reason: a stronger US dollar tends to be a wet blanket for high-beta risk assets (crypto included). 🧯
Commodities (Energy)
- Oil slid sharply (roughly mid-single-digit %) as US-Iran tensions appeared to cool on comments suggesting talks—geopolitical risk premium deflated like a sad balloon. 🛢️
- Also lurking: the “too much supply / not enough demand excitement” narrative hasn’t gone away, so oil didn’t get much sympathy buying. 😐
Commodities (Precious Metals)
- Gold and silver stayed in a brutal selloff (gold down several % on the day; silver even more volatile). 🥇
- Why: hawkish Fed expectations + a stronger dollar hit metals, and margin requirement hikes turbocharged forced selling—nothing says “store of value” like a margin call. 📞
Currencies (USD)
- US dollar jumped (DXY up roughly ~0.6%), reinforcing pressure on commodities and other dollar-sensitive risk trades. 💵
- Driver: the market read-through from the Fed-chair nomination = tighter policy bias, i.e., “the dollar just drank an espresso.” ☕