The dollar firmed across the board as London wound down, with the Swedish krona and Norwegian krone the softest majors. Ethereum led a mixed crypto tape, while gold slipped from recent highs.

Currencies

The greenback was broadly bid. USD/SEK rose 0.89% to 9.526 and USD/NOK added 0.73% to 9.347, though both remain well below their month-ago levels, down 1.72% and 3.45% respectively.

USD/CHF climbed 0.54% to 0.8051 and USD/ZAR gained 0.52% to 15.946. On the other side, NZD/USD fell 0.59% to 0.5939 and GBP/USD dropped 0.44% to 1.3585.

EUR/USD eased 0.20% to 1.16507, holding a 2.33% gain over the month. Sterling underperformed the Aussie, with GBP/AUD down 0.58% to 1.8936 and off 1.19% on the week.

Equities

Wall Street set the tone. The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.29% to 29,587.88, extending a 5.85% monthly advance, while the S&P 500 added 0.64% to 7,725.33.

European boards were quieter. The DAX 40 edged up 0.22% to 26,310.85 and the Euro Stoxx 50 was flat at 6,466.18. The FTSE 100 slipped 0.31% to 10,854.51, though it holds a 1.09% weekly gain.

The Nikkei 225 stood out overnight, up 0.77% to 66,147.85 and 56.25% higher over the year. The Hang Seng lagged, down 0.23% to 25,598.16.

Crypto

Ethereum climbed 2.23% to 2,496.62, one of the day’s larger gainers among the majors and up 30.07% on the month. BNB rose 1.21% to 701.55 and Solana added 1.09% to 97.58.

Bitcoin was steadier, up 0.25% to 78,714.28 while holding a 7.82% weekly gain. XRP bucked the trend, falling 0.73% to 1.42285, though it remains 33.35% higher over the month.

Outside the covered names, the day’s sharpest moves came from the smaller tokens: XTZ jumped 15.51% while MAT slid 13.77%.

Metals and energy

Gold eased 0.76% to 4,623.91, one of the day’s notable decliners, but still sits 14.88% higher on the month and 36.17% on the year. Silver diverged, up 0.35% to 68.96 and 78.65% higher over twelve months. Platinum fell 0.57% to 1,847.96.

Crude firmed on the session, with US crude up 0.92% to 81.40 and Brent up 0.81% to 86.24. Both remain down more than 5% on the week.

Gold’s pullback remains the session’s clearest reversal against an otherwise firmer dollar backdrop.