Markets Wrap July 10: Stocks Rise, Yen Gains, CAD Shrugs Jobs Beat
Tech led equities higher on chip and AI optimism while the yen squeezed USD/JPY lower and Canada's jobs beat faded fast.
Stocks closed another winning session Thursday as SK Hynix's US debut sparked fresh excitement around chip demand — the company flagged peak demand in 2027 but sees strength running all the way through 2030. Meta was the day's standout, surging 6% after Zuckerberg talked up data center economics alongside a new AI model drop. The S&P 500 tacked on 0.4%, the Nasdaq added 0.3%, and small-caps were the odd one out with the Russell 2000 slipping 0.5%.
Canada printed a solid June jobs number — 18,200 new positions against a 10,000 forecast — but don't get too excited about the loonie. USD/CAD dipped briefly to 1.4120 before broad dollar demand pushed it right back to 1.4157. The Fed's semi-annual report to Congress flagged a noticeable pickup in inflation during the spring, keeping the dollar bid and giving rate-cut bulls nothing to cheer about.
Read more Apple Stock Hits Record Highs by Playing the AI Game Its Way →
The yen was the FX session's real story. USD/JPY shed 65 pips and hit a peak drop of over a full cent, with buyers stepping in hard around 161.25 on two separate tests. Japanese authorities are increasingly signaling they won't sit still on yen weakness, but bulls are digging in — this tug-of-war is far from over.
Oil whipped around on Iran headline risk, settling down about 51 cents to $71.57. A US-Iran-mediator meeting is set for the weekend to get nuclear talks back on track. Watch refining crack spreads — Russian refinery capacity keeps taking hits from Ukrainian strikes, and Hormuz traffic is quiet. Gold dipped $9 to $4,112 but bounced hard late, showing the dip-buyers haven't gone anywhere. The overriding market vibe: traders still believe Trump won't do anything to kill the equity rally.
Continue reading at Forexlive.
