Hong Kong stocks rose 98 points, or 0.4%, to 24,607 in early trading on Monday, ending a four-day losing streak amid gains led by the property and technology sectors. Sentiment improved after China's top leaders pledged to support the economy and tackle "irregular competition" at last week's Politburo meeting. Beijing also confirmed plans to hold its fourth plenary session in October, which will likely focus on the next five-year plan. A modest rebound in US stock futures added support, following Wall Street's sharp decline on Friday due to weak employment data. On tariffs, US Treasury...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) extends its losses for the third consecutive day against the US Dollar (USD), with the AUD/USD pair holding losses following mixed economic data released on Thursday. Traders are now focused on Friday's US Nonfarm Payroll (NFP) report, for additional policy direction insights. Australia's trade surplus rose to 7,079 million in November, surpassing the expected 5,750 million and the previous reading of 5,670 million (revised from 5,953 million). Exports increased by 4.8% month-on-month (MoM) in November, up from 3.5% (revised from 3.6%) in October. Meanwhile,...
Gold drifted lower to around $2,650 per ounce on Thursday, halting two days of gains as investors continued to assess the Fed's policy outlook ahead of key jobs data. The latest FOMC minutes indicated inflation is likely to slow this year, but policymakers noted the risk of persistent price pressures, partly due to Trump's policies. The central bank also signaled that it may be nearing a point to slow the pace of policy easing, reducing the appeal of the non-yielding metal. Meanwhile, gold found support after a weaker-than-expected private employment report for December, reinforced the...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $72.40 on Thursday. The WTI price edges lower amid the stronger US Dollar (USD). However, the concerns over supply disruptions might cap the downside for the WTI price. A strengthening of the Greenback exerts some selling pressure on the black gold as it makes oil more expensive for holders of other currencies. "The dollar's safe haven status is appreciated as fears of renewed U.S. inflationary pressure grow," said Tamas Varga, an analyst with oil broker PVM. US crude oil inventories fell for a seventh consecutive...
Oil prices fell more than 1% on Wednesday as a stronger dollar and large builds in U.S. fuel inventories last week pressured prices, reversing earlier gains driven by tightening supplies from Russia and other OPEC members. Brent crude settled down 89 cents, or 1.16%, to $76.23 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 93 cents, or 1.25%, to $73.32. Both benchmarks had risen more than 1% earlier in the session. Gasoline stocks rose by 6.3 million barrels last week to 237.7 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.5 million-barrel build,...
Gold prices hit a near four-week high on Wednesday after a weaker-than-expected private employment report for December provided reassurance for some in the market the U.S. Federal Reserve may be less cautious about easing rates this year. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $2,657.38 per ounce, as of 02:15 p.m. ET (1915 GMT) and hit its highest since Dec. 13. U.S. gold futures settled 0.3% higher at $2,672.40. Weaker private payrolls "is contributing to gold's move, because ultimately, weaker employment numbers imply that the economy has been weaker than many had expected," said Bart Melek, head of...