02:05 PM EDT, 04/04/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Gold closed lower on Thursday for the first time in eight sessions following a record run that pushed prices above US$2,300 for the first time as investors mull day-prior comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell while they await interest-rate cuts from the central bank. Gold for June delivery closed down US$6.50 to...

Block Inc ( SQ ) shares were trading lower after Morgan Stanley analyst James Faucette downgraded the stock from Equal-Weight to Underweight and lowered its price target from $62 to $60. Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer reiterated a Buy rating on Block while raising his price target to $99 from $89. While Block’s share price has risen by more than 21% since the company reported better-than-expected...

01:45 PM EDT, 04/04/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Financial stocks were advancing in Thursday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 0.9% and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) ahead 0.6%. The Philadelphia Housing Index added 0.2% and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE) was up 0.6%. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was increasing 3.3% to $68,113, and the yield...

US stock indices surged on Thursday following strong US labor data. Government data showed US unemployment claims rose by 9 thousand to 221 thousand in the week ending March 30, hitting nine-week highs. Bloombergs analysts said the government sector is responsible for most of the layoffs in March, followed by the tech sector, then finance. Analysts believe the US labor...