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 opened mixed, as Wall Street losses and uncertainty around the U.S. economy continued to weigh on equities. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.12% higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.34% while the Topix added 0.27%. South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.16% while the small-cap Kosdaq dipped 0.86%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were at 24,065 also weaker than the HSI's last close of 24,219.95. Japan's headline inflation rose 3.7% year on year in February, easing from a two-year high of 4% seen in January. U.S. stock futures traded around the flatline after an attempt...
The S&P 500 ticked lower on Thursday as uncertainty around the U.S. economy continued to weigh on equities, thwarting the market's attempts at recovery from a monthlong rout. The broad market index pulled back 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.3%, as Apple shares sank about 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered around the flatline. Shares of Alphabet saw declines, weighing on the market. Meta Platforms and Nvidia, however, were outliers among the "Magnificent Seven" stocks, each rising almost 1%. The moves comes a day after the latest Federal Reserve meeting, at which...
European markets closed lower on Thursday, as global economic uncertainty cast a shadow over monetary policy announcements from the Bank of England, Swiss National Bank and Sweden's Riksbank. After a muted start, the regional Stoxx 600 closed 0.43% lower, snapping a four-day winning streak. Shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd posts 2024 profit decline, flags ‘challenging' environment | view postUK wage growth steady at expected 5.9% ahead of BOE decision | view postChina's central bank follows U.S. Fed in keeping rates steady as tariff threats pressure yuan | view postNorway's $1.8 trillion...
The S&P 500 was trading in the green on Thursday after some solid housing data eased some concerns about the U.S. economy sliding into recession. The broad market index rose 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.7%. The tech-heavy index's gains were supported by gains in large-cap tech stocks such as Meta Platforms and Amazon, which rose about 4% and more than 1%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading 217 points higher, or 0.5%. New economic data released Thursday suggested that economic concerns may have been overblown. Data from the National Association of...
The Hang Seng plunged 551 points, or 2.2%, to close at 24,220 on Thursday, ending a two-session winning streak amid broad-based losses. The index fell from a three-year peak as traders took profits. Modest gains in US futures failed to lift sentiment after Beijing's latest plan to boost consumption and stabilize stock and real estate markets lacked clarity on timing and scale. Concerns also grew after Fitch Ratings warned that higher US tariffs, including a projected effective rate of 35% on Chinese goods, could shave 1 ppt off China's GDP by 2026. Fitch also forecast global growth to slow...
European markets were mixed at the open on Thursday, as investors awaited monetary policy announcements from the Bank of England, the Swiss National Bank and Sweden's Riksbank. The regional Stoxx 600 was near the flatline in early trade. The index has closed higher for the past four sessions, recovering from a 1.22% loss last week. Germany's DAX gave up gains on Wednesday as investors appeared to "buy the rumor, sell the fact" after lawmakers voted to allow exemptions to its debt rules, unlocking hundreds of billions in defense, infrastructure and climate spending. The potential reforms...
Stocks rallied on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 clawing back more of the rout since late February that took the benchmark briefly into correction territory, as the Federal Reserve forecast it would still cut interest rates two times in 2025. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 383.32 points, or 0.92%, and closed at 41,964.63. The S&P 500 jumped 1.08% to end at 5,675.29, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.41% to settle at 17,750.79. The central bank kept the federal funds rate at a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, a decision that was widely expected. That said, the Fed kept its outlook...
The Federal Reserve in a closely watched decision Wednesday held the line on benchmark interest rates though still indicated that reductions are likely later in the year. Faced with pressing concerns over the impact tariffs will have on a slowing economy, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee kept its key borrowing rate targeted in a range between 4.25%-4.5%, where it has been since December. Markets had been pricing in virtually zero chance of a move at this week's two-day policy meeting. Along with the decision, officials updated their rate and economic projections for this year...
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....