Investing.com – Top 5 things that rocked U.S. markets this week
1. US Stocks End Month Negative as Global Trade Tussle Heats Up
Forays higher in U.S. stocks were met with heavy selling pressure this week as lingering trade war concerns continued to keep traders on the defensive.
Stocks appeared to be given a lifeline earlier in the week, when U.S. President Donald Trump decided against imposing a harsh measure to restrict Chinese investment in U.S. based technology.
But the euphoria proved to be short-lived as markets reversed course ahead of initial U.S. and Chinese tariffs due to take effect next week.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) was back in the headlines after the e-commerce giant announced its entry into the pharmacy sector with the purchase of Pillpoint, triggering widespread panic, sending shares of brick-and-mortar drug stores sharply lower.
Nike , meanwhile, showed improved results – beating on both the top and bottom lines – after revealing its first positive North America sales number in over a year.
Shares of Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) closed 11.13% higher Friday at $79.68.
The S&P 500 closed 0.08% higher to close 2,718.37
2. Crude Oil Prices Settle Above $74 for First Time Since November 2014
Crude oil prices staged a four-day rally to end the week at their highest settlement since November 2014.
The rally in crude prices – for a fourth-straight week – emerged as focus shifted to the prospect of deeper losses of Iranian crude supplies as the U.S. threatened sanctions on countries that fail to halt Iranian crude imports by Nov. 4.
Unexpected disruptions in Canada, Libya and Venezuela, meanwhile, reined in supply, further lifting sentiment on oil prices.
Oil prices were also supported by a weekly Energy Information Administration report showing U.S. crude supplies fell by 9.9 million barrels in the week ended June 22.
Crude futures settled 65 cents higher on Friday as data showed U.S. oil rigs counts fell for the second straight week, pointing to signs of tightening domestic output.
3. Dollar Suffers Wobble to Close Week Roughly Flat
The dollar was roughly unchanged for the week against its rivals as heavy selling pressure Friday eased earlier gains rivals after the euro rallied sharply as traders cheered an EU migration deal.
European Union member states Friday struck an migration deal, agreeing on several measures to tackle the migrant crises in the EU including stepping up border security and setting up holding centers to handle asylum seekers.
The deal was cheered by traders as it eased political uncertainty within the bloc, sending the EUR/USD sharply higher, to $1.1677, up 0.94%.
The dollar fell 0.82% to 94.22 against a basket of major currencies on Friday.
4. Gold Suffers Biggest Monthly Slump Since September
Gold prices were on the backfoot for most of the week as dollar strength stifled demand for the yellow metal, which suffered its biggest monthly slump since September.
Gold struggled to capture the flows into safe-havens seen earlier this week as traders feared further downside beckons as inflation hit the Fed's 2% target for the first time since May 2012, raising the prospect of a faster pace of rate hikes.
The Fed has said, however, that it is comfortable with inflation running above target over the near-term.
5. Crypto Crunch Continues
There was no respite for Bitcoin this week as traders continued to pull billions from the market, raising the risk of further losses for the popular crypto.
Bitcoin's failure to hold $6,000 has fuelled expectations that it could swing lower to levels not seen since October.
Another leg lower to below $5,000 could generate support – price levels that trigger buying – for the beleaguered crypto, according to Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at Allianz (DE:ALVG).
"I don't think you (Bitcoin) get all the way back to $20,000, but I do think that you need to establish a base whereby the people who really believe in the future of bitcoin consolidate and then that provides you a lift," El-Erian said on CNBC.
Over the past seven days, Bitcoin fell 4.01% on the Bitfinex exchange, Ethereum fell 12.95%, while Ripple XRP fell 12.55% on the Poloniex exchange.