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...
The Nikkei 225 surged 1.6% to above 35,600, while the broader Topix Index gained 1.3% to 2,626 on Friday, with Japanese shares rising for the third straight session following a tech-led rally on Wall Street overnight. Investors also continued to monitor trade developments after President Trump claimed tariff talks with China were ongoing, despite Beijing's denial of any current negotiations. Meanwhile, fresh data showed Tokyo's core inflation jumped to a two-year high of 3.4% in April, complicating the Bank of Japan's efforts to navigate rising prices alongside mounting pressure from U.S....
Asia-Pacific markets rose after Wall Street gained for a third straight day as tech stocks rallied, with investors assessing the trade climate as the U.S. tones down tariff rhetoric. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.91% and the Topix added 0.88%. South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.03% while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.6% as South Korea reportedly inches closer to striking a trade deal with the U.S. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index opened 0.75% higher while mainland China's CSI 300 inched up 0.3%. Australian markets are closed for a holiday.Futures linked to the S&P 500 were 0.3% higher,...
Stocks surged on Thursday, helped by strong gains in large-cap technology stocks, as investors continued to look for signs of progress on the global trade front. The S&P 500 ended up 2.03% at 5,484.77, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 2.74% to end at 17,166.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged the other two indexes, weighed down by a 6.6% drop in IBM, but still rose 486.83 points, or 1.23%, to 40,093.40. It marked the blue-chip index's first close above the 40,000 threshold since April 15. Nvidia, MetaTrader, Amazon, Tesla and Microsoft all closed higher, pushing the...
European stocks erased early losses and closed higher on Thursday (4/24) for a third straight day of gains, benefiting from a positive session on Wall Street as investors continued to assess the outlook for European companies amid potential U.S. trade restrictions. The eurozone STOXX 5o gained 0.3% to close at 5,115 and the pan-European STOXX gained 0.5% to close at 519. Rhetoric from White House officials continued to suggest that President Trump was more open to reaching a trade deal with China and avoiding a full-blown trade war with China, adding to the appeal of riskier assets around...
US stocks hovered close to the flatline on Thursday after a volatile week, as markets continued to assess the outlook for US trade flows and how it may impact corporate returns. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 slightly higher, while the Dow was 150 points lower. Equities were supported this week by President Trump's remarks that tariffs against China would not remain at the 145% level in the longer term. Still, Treasury Secretary Bessent noted that talks with China have not yet started, and Beijing claimed it will not dialogue before tariffs by the US are lowered, raising skepticism on a...
The Hang Seng dropped 163 points or 0.7% to close at 21,910 on Thursday, snapping a three-day winning streak. The pullback came as Washington signaled openness to easing tariffs on China but ruled out taking unilateral action. Meanwhile, U.S. futures plunged after Wall Street logged a second consecutive day of gains Wednesday, with investors cautiously awaiting earnings from Alphabet, Intel, and PepsiCo later today. Losses in Hong Kong were limited by reports that China began issuing special sovereign bonds to cushion the economy from rising trade tensions, aiming to raise CNY 286 billion...
European stocks opened lower in early trading on Thursday as a relief rally stalls. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down by 0.5% at 8:30 am London time. Meanwhile, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 were also lower by 0.7%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 is trading flat. Investors are digesting earnings releases from Unilever, Banco Sabadell, Sanofi, Eni, BNP Paribasand Dassault Systemes Regional markets had followed their global counterparts higher on Wednesday as concerns about a trade war between the U.S. and China receded. U.S. stocks also surged on Wednesday after President Donald Trump...
The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.49% to close at 35,039 while the broader Topix Index gained 0.32% to 2,593 on Thursday, with Japanese shares rising for the second straight session and tracking Wall Street higher. The rally followed comments from U.S. President Donald Trump, who signaled a softer stance on Chinese tariffs. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added that the U.S. and China have a chance to reach a "big deal" on trade. Meanwhile, the U.S. reportedly informed Japan's trade delegation that Tokyo would not receive special treatment under Washington's current tariff regime, despite Japan'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....