Daily summary: Dollar sells off amid trade unrest, US stocks cautiously up after softer PPI (12.06.2025)

U.S. indices are cautiously recovering yesterday’s losses in response to lower-than-expected producer inflation and positive (though vague) comments from Donald Trump regarding negotiations with China (DJIA: +0.15%, S&P 500: +0.35%, Nasdaq: +0.35%). The exception is the small-cap Russell 2000 index, which extended its losses by another 0.4%.

Donald Trump once again criticized Fed Chair Jerome Powell for keeping interest rates at their current level. According to Trump, inflation is already sufficiently low, and a 2 percentage point rate cut could save the federal budget around $600 billion annually in interest payments.

Oracle shares surged over 13% today following the company’s earnings release. Oracle beat market expectations on both profits and revenues. Its fastest-growing cloud segment rose 52% year-over-year, generating $3 billion in revenue.

Following the Air India disaster, Boeing shares dropped by over 4%. A Boeing 787 crashed shortly after takeoff near the city of Ahmedabad. There were 242 passengers on board.

U.S. PPI inflation rose 0.1% in May as expected, bringing the annual rate to 2.6%, while the core reading fell more than forecast to 3% (forecast: 3.1%, previous: 3.2%). The higher headline figure was mainly due to increased margins in the services sector.

Jobless claims remained steady this week at 248,000 (forecast: 242,000).

European markets mostly declined today. Germany’s DAX performed the worst, falling over 0.7%. Italy’s IT40 (-0.3%) and the broad STOXX Europe 600 (-0.3%) also saw corrections. Sentiment was slightly better in France, where the CAC 40 lost only around 0.1%. Switzerland’s SMI held its ground near yesterday’s close, and the UK’s FTSE 100 finished the session up 0.2%.

The bond market saw significant price gains today. Yields on U.S. Treasuries dropped back to around 4.35%, while German yields fell below 2.5%. These bond movements suggest a shift toward safer assets amid lower-than-expected inflation pressure and ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

In the forex market: the dollar continues to decline amid persistent uncertainty surrounding the official conclusion of trade talks after Liberation Day (USDIDX: -0.7%). Safe-haven currencies like the Swiss franc (USDCHF: -1%), euro (EURUSD: +0.8%), and yen (USDJPY: -0.7%) are strengthening the most. The Canadian dollar erased all losses it had incurred following Donald Trump’s recent presidential election win (USDCAD: -0.5% to 1.36).

In the precious metals market, gold is slightly strengthening, up 0.8% to around $3,382 per ounce. Silver prices remain stable, while platinum shows a strong gain of 2.4%.

Bitcoin is down slightly today by 0.6%, and Ethereum is down nearly 2%.