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 S&P 500 retreated on Monday, struggling to rebound from February's rout as a deadline on President Donald Trump's tariff policies this week ratcheted up economic concerns. The broad index fell 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 66 points, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite slid 0.4%, weighed down by Nvidia's slide of more than 5%. Those moves come after the three major indexes notched losses for February, which concluded last week. The Dow and S&P 500 each slipped more than 1% in February, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite recorded its worst month since April 2024...
The S&P 500 edged higher on Monday, as investors weighed a looming tariff deadline against opportunity in some of the more volatile investments of the past year like Tesla. The broad index climbed 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 174 points, or 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite flickered around flat, as a slide of 4% in Nvidia mitigated gains elsewhere within the technology sector. The broader market got upward momentum from Tesla, which jumped more than 3% after Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said it could rebound. Palantir, another retail investor favorite, jumped more...
The Hang Seng rose 65 points, or 0.3%, to close at 23,006 on Monday, ending two straight days of declines as traders eagerly awaited the start of China's National People's Congress on Tuesday. Analysts expect officials to set a growth target of around 5% and a budget deficit of 4% of GDP for this year during the crucial annual meeting. Investors are also hoping that U.S. tariffs on China could be delayed or reduced after President Trump announced plans to impose an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese imports starting March 4, after the 10% levy was imposed on Feb. 4. Meanwhile, China's...
European markets are set to start the week on a positive note, with defense stocks seen opening sharply higher after regional leaders held security talks that discussed higher military spending. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 is expected to open 42 points higher at 8,846, Germany's DAX is up 135 points at 22,621, France's CAC is up 34 points at 8,124 and Italy's FTSE MIB is up 18 points at 38,798, according to data from IG. Earnings are due from Euroapi and Bunzl, and key data releases include preliminary euro zone inflation data for February, with the latest consumer price index due ahead of the...
Japan stocks were higher after the close on Monday, as gains in the Mining, Gas & Water and Insurance sectors led shares higher. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.81%. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were IHI Corp. (TYO:7013), which rose 7.75% or 677.00 points to trade at 9,408.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Recruit Holdings Co Ltd (TYO:6098) added 6.93% or 610.00 points to end at 9,410.00 and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (TYO:7011) was up 6.74% or 134.00 points to 2,121.00 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were DeNA Co Ltd...
Hong Kong's equities surged 370 points or 1.6% to 23,313 in early trade on Monday, reversing losses from the previous two sessions as traders reacted positively to February's PMI readings in China. Factory activity in the country grew the most in three months, a private survey data showed. Meanwhile, official figures showed the manufacturing sectors unexpectedly expanded while the service economy rose slightly faster than expected. Source: Trading Economics
The Nikkei 225 Index surged 0.9% to around 37,500, while the broader Topix Index gained 1.1% to 2,711 on Monday, recovering some of last week's losses, supported by Wall Street's strong finish on Friday. However, investors remained cautious ahead of the March 4 deadline for US President Donald Trump's proposed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, along with an additional 10% duty on Chinese goods. Geopolitical concerns also remained, as Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky failed to reach an agreement on Friday that could potentially end the war in Ukraine. Domestically, Japan's...
Asia-Pacific markets were set to rise Monday as investors awaited clarity about U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to impose impose tariffs this week on key U.S. trading partners. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly told Fox News on Sunday that the exact tariff that will be levied against Mexico and Canada starting Tuesday is still "fluid," which means it could be lower than the proposed 25%. He added that the additional 10% duty on China imports is "set." Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was set to open higher, with the futures contract in Chicago at 37,745 while its...
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....