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 Hang Seng surged 776 points, or 3.3%, to close at 24,370, marking its third straight gain and its highest level in more than three years, with all sectors gaining. Investors viewed policy signals from China's annual parliamentary meeting positively, prompting increased buying. The technology sector rose 5.4%, led by an 8.5% surge in Alibaba Group, which has surged 46% since hitting a 2025 low on Jan. 13, on optimism over its AI development efforts. Consumer, property and financial stocks also rose strongly, as traders bet that the latest U.S. tariff hike under President Trump would not...
European markets opened higher on Thursday as investors eyed further earnings releases and awaited the latest monetary policy decision from the European Central Bank. The regional Stoxx 600 index rose 0.26% shortly after the market opened. Air France-KLM shares rose more than 16% after the airline group beat market expectations for full-year and fourth-quarter operating profits. Germany's Lufthansa rose 7% on its own annual results, which showed a decline in annual profit but also slightly above consensus. DHL Group, listed as Deutsche Post, jumped 9% after announcing a 1 billion euro...
Japan stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Shipbuilding, Textile and Marine Transport sectors led shares higher. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.91%. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Japan Steel Works Ltd (TYO:5631), which rose 15.86% or 843.00 points to trade at 6,159.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (TYO:7011) added 10.79% or 245.50 points to end at 2,520.50 and Okuma Corp. (TYO:6103) was up 8.04% or 265.00 points to 3,560.00 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were Mitsubishi...
Shares in Hong Kong soared 520 points or 2.2 to 24,115 on Thursday morning deals, marking the third session of gains while reaching their highest level in over three years. This followed an overnight rally on Wall Street in the wake of President Trump's announcement of a one-month exemption on auto tariffs for Mexico and Canada. Traders keenly added new positions after China projected a 5% GDP growth for 2025 during a parliamentary session, keeping the same forecast as 2024 despite trade tensions with the US. Moreover, Beijing announced plans to issue CNY 1.3 trillion in ultra-long...
Asia-Pacific markets opened mostly higher Thursday, as Wall Street rose overnight after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed tariffs on certain automakers. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.76%, while the Topix climbed 0.78%. Yields of Japanese government bond yields have surged, with the 10-year Japanese bond yield hitting its highest level since 2009, data from LSEG showed. South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.61% while the small-cap Kosdaq inched up 0.38%. South Korea's consumer inflation for February rose 2% year on year, more than Reuters estimates of a 1.95% increase, and slower than the 2.2%...
The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 1.1% to surpass 37,800, while the broader Topix Index gained 1% to 2,745 on Thursday, marking a second consecutive session of gains. The rally followed US President Donald Trump's announcement of a one-month exemption for automakers from his 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. The White House also indicated that Trump is open to further tariff concessions, easing concerns about potential economic fallout. Meanwhile, Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida stated this week that the central bank could raise interest rates further if its forecasts...
Wall Street's main indexes finished higher in choppy trading on Wednesday, as investors cheered the likely easing of trade tensions between the U.S. and major trading partners. Stocks turned positive after a report said President Donald Trump was considering a one-month delay of auto tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Equities extended gains after a White House announcement confirmed that Trump agreed to delay tariffs on some vehicles. Earlier, Wall Street had lost ground following mixed economic data and as investors also worried about a trade war. "We are on the tariff roller coaster," said...
gyrated on Wednesday amid ongoing uncertainties tied to President Donald Trump's controversial tariffs. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite added 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded by 181 points, or 0.4%, after plunging more than 1,300 points over the last two sessions. The three indexes swung between positive and negative territory for the day. If the averages end down, it would mark the third straight negative session for each. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said late Tuesday that he expected an announcement on an agreement with Canada and Mexico...
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....