Crude was the day’s clear standout, and not in a good way. US crude dropped 6.51% to $83.59 and Brent fell 5.85% to $87.19, the two largest declines across the board.
The pullback dents recent momentum, though both grades still sit more than 21% higher on the month.
Energy and Metals
While oil sank, precious metals ran the other way. Silver added 2.52% to $59.66, extending a 5.89% weekly gain and pushing it 24.34% higher on the year.
Gold rose 1.01% to $4,094.12. Platinum gained 1.72% to $1,618.34 and palladium climbed 2.45% to $1,275.83, giving the metals complex a broadly firm session.
Equities
Stocks closed higher on both sides of the Atlantic. The Nasdaq 100 led US benchmarks with a 1.51% gain to 28,571.13, followed by the S&P 500 up 0.90% and the Dow up 0.70%.
Europe was firmer still. The IBEX 35 rose 1.68% and the DAX added 1.14%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.69% to 65,353.63.
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.67% at 10,794.72, capping a 3.19% week.
Crypto
Crypto skewed green. UNI topped all gainers at 6.08%, while Ethereum rose 2.57% to $1,920.58 and Bitcoin Cash added 2.54%.
Bitcoin edged up 0.71% to $64,757.80, keeping it just 1.87% higher on the month. Litecoin and Solana also advanced, though the smaller tokens were mixed, with GRT down 1.86% and Tezos off 1.21%.
FX
Moves were muted in currencies. The dollar softened against the rand, with USD/ZAR down 0.62%, and slipped versus the Scandinavian currencies. EUR/USD firmed 0.16% to 1.13866.
The energy complex remains the session’s sharpest divergence from an otherwise risk-on tape.
