Oil prices stabilized on Thursday (February 12th), as the market reassigned a risk premium to US-Iran tensions despite US inventory data showing swelling domestic supplies. This movement confirms one thing: geopolitical headlines are still more "noise" than signals of a short-term surplus. As of 3:50 PM WIB, Brent was at $69.60/barrel (+0.29%) and WTI was at $64.83/barrel (+0.31%). The gains were moderate, but enough to keep prices near the psychological $70 level for Brent. From a geopolitical perspective, market focus is on the potential for escalation in the Middle East. Recent reports...
Asia-Pacific markets advanced Wednesday after Wall Street rose on the back of a tech rally, led by chipmaker Nvidia, with South Korean stocks leading gains. Shares in the artificial intelligence darling advanced nearly 3%, extending Monday's gains and driving Nvidia's market cap past Microsoft's for the first time since January. Chip companies Broadcom and Micron Technology rose more than 3% and 4%, respectively. South Korean markets rose as opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung won the presidential election. The Kospi index popped 2.44% to hit its highest level since August last year,...
U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, buoyed by tech strength, solid jobs data and hopes for progress on trade. The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, the Dow gained 214 points and the Nasdaq gained 0.8%, led by a 2.8% rally in Nvidia that briefly made it the most valuable public company. Other chipmakers such as Broadcom (+3.3%) and Micron (+4.1%) also rose sharply, adding to the chip-driven momentum. A stronger-than-expected JOLTS report showed job openings rose by 191,000 to 7.391 million in April, signaling resilience in the labor market despite trade headwinds. However, the OECD cut its 2025 U.S. growth...
European stocks closed mostly flat on Tuesday, recovering from losses of more than 1% earlier in the session after weaker-than-expected euro zone inflation data reinforced expectations for a 25 basis point interest rate cut by the ECB later this week. Meanwhile, global growth concerns weighed on sentiment after the OECD cut its outlook, projecting world GDP to slow from 3.3% in 2024 to 2.9% in 2025 and 2026, citing rising trade tensions. Adding to market jitters, political instability in the Netherlands deepened as the government collapsed over disagreements on immigration policy. In...
Stocks were little changed Tuesday, following modest gains seen in the first session of June, as growth concerns increased and traders awaited more details on potential U.S. trade deals. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average each hovered around the flatline. The Nasdaq Composite, however, was higher by 0.4%. Tuesday's declines follow the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development cutting its U.S. growth outlook. The OECD now sees the U.S. economy expanding by just 1.6%, down from 2.2%. Treasury yields declined, as traders sought out safety. The benchmark 10-year...
The Hang Seng surged 354 points or 1.5% to end at 23,512 on Tuesday, reversing Monday's losses amid strength in all sectors. Hopes that President Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping may speak this week boosted sentiment, signaling a potential easing in trade tensions. Meantime, Finance Secretary Paul Chan reaffirmed Hong Kong's 2025 GDP growth target of 2% to 3%, citing solid Q1 data as well as recent monetary easing and business support measures in China. In corporate news, Vodafone and CK Hutchison finalized their UK merger, launching VodafoneThree with plans to invest £11 billion over...
European shares rebounded on Tuesday, with the Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600 rising about 0.2%, supported by broader market gains. Investors remained focused on US trade policy developments, with some hope after the White House said Presidents Trump and Xi may speak this week, despite rising trade tensions. Caution persisted as Trump's unpredictable tariff plans continued to unsettle markets. The US administration also asked an appeals court to pause a ruling that could block new tariffs and urged countries to submit trade proposals by Wednesday. In Europe, attention turned to upcoming euro zone...
Japan stocks were lower after the close on Tuesday, as losses in the Paper & Pulp, Transport and Communication sectors led shares lower. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.05%. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were IHI Corp. (TYO:7013), which rose 6.07% or 875.00 points to trade at 15,280.00 at the close. Meanwhile, M3 Inc (TYO:2413) added 6.05% or 122.50 points to end at 2,146.00 and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (TYO:7012) was up 6.02% or 615.00 points to 10,825.00 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were Suzuki Motor Corp....
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Tuesday following gains on all three Wall Street benchmarks overnight, despite mounting global trade frictions. China pushed back against the U.S.′ accusations that it had violated a temporary trade agreement. Instead, the Asian powerhouse blamed Washington for failing to uphold the deal — a sign that negotiations between the world's two largest economies are deteriorating. Meanwhile, the European Union criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's intention to double steel tariffs to 50%, saying that such a move "undermines" its own negotiations with the U.S....
Gold rises in the early Asian trade. There's a broad commodities uptrend, driven by macro uncertainty, a weaker dollar, and persistent demand for "hard" assets, says Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst...
Oil extended declines after OPEC+ agreed to a bigger-than-expected production increase next month, raising concerns about oversupply just as US tariffs fan fears about the demand outlook.
Brent...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) weakened against its US counterpart and reversed part of Friday's recovery from the lowest level since July 23 following Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda's remarks....