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...
Japanese stocks fell after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Electric Power, Transportation Equipment and Warehousing sectors led shares lower. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.27%. The best performer on the Nikkei 225 was Rakuten Inc (TYO:4755), which rose 5.73% or 49.90 points to trade at 920.10 at the close. Meanwhile, Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. (TYO:5706) rose 4.29% or 199.00 points to close at 4,835.00 and Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (TYO:5801) gained 3.90% or 274.00 points to 7,302.00 in late trade. The worst performer on the session was Tokio Marine...
Japan's 10-year government bond yield surged above 1.17% on Wednesday, reaching its highest level since May 2011, mirroring the rise in US Treasury yields as strong US economic data reduced expectations for further Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. Domestically, investors are preparing for the Bank of Japan's branch managers' meeting this week and Deputy Governor Himino's speech next week, both of which are expected to provide further guidance on the rates outlook. BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda recently reiterated that any policy adjustments will depend on economic, price, and financial...
The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 0.8% to fall below 39,800, while the broader Topix Index lost 0.7%, settling at 2,767 on Wednesday, reversing gains from the previous session as US Treasury yields surged. Japanese shares also mirrored a tech-driven selloff on Wall Street overnight, fueled by concerns over persistent inflation and reduced expectations of further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Investors in Japan are also looking ahead to local wage data this week, which could offer further insights into the Bank of Japan's monetary policy outlook. Notable losses were seen in index...
U.S. stocks closed down on Tuesday after a batch of upbeat economic data raised concerns that an inflation rebound could slow down the Federal Reserve's pace of monetary policy easing. Stocks gave up early gains after a Labor Department report showed job openings unexpectedly increased in November, while a separate report said services sector activity accelerated in December with a measure tracking input prices surging to a near two-year high. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields hit an eight-month high at 4.677% after the data pointed to a strong economy. Signs of continued resilience in...
European markets closed higher on Tuesday as investors in the region digested inflation data and corporate earnings releases. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index provisionally ended the session up 0.34%, with mining, utilities and construction stocks among the few sectors in negative territory. Major bourses were in mixed territory, with the FTSE 100 down by around 0.09%. Annual inflation in the euro zone rose to 2.4% in December, a flash estimate from Eurostat showed on Tuesday, up from 2.2% in November. The print — which was in line with expectations, according to a Reuters poll of...
Most US stocks rose on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 up 0.4%, extending gains for a third session, the Dow Jones up nearly 130 points and the Nasdaq trading around the flatline. All sectors were in the green but energy and real estate outperformed. In the corporate sector, Nvidia shares rose 1.6%, following the CEO's announcement of new chips, software and services. On the other hand, Tesla fell nearly 0.7% after Bank of America downgraded the stock. Meanwhile, traders awaited the JOLTS report for additional insight into the performance of the labor market while continuing to evaluate...
European stocks fell on Tuesday, retreating after strong gains in the last session, as a decline in healthcare and financial stocks weighed while investors focused on key inflation data across the continent due later in the day. Europe's main index, the STOXX 600, was down 0.3% by 0810 GMT after rising to a more than two-week high on Monday following a report suggesting U.S. President-elect Donald Trump may opt for a less aggressive tariff strategy. Trump later denied the report, adding to the uncertainty. On the day, healthcare was among the biggest early losers, down 0.8% with index...
The Hang Seng tumbled 241 points or 1.2% to close at 19,448 on Tuesday, marking its second day of losses and nearing its lowest since the end of November. Declines were widespread across sectors, with the tech index down near 1% amid a steep 7.5% plunge in Tencent Hlds. after the US added the tech giant and battery maker CATL to a list of firms allegedly aiding China's military. Tencent issued a statement claiming its inclusion on the list was a clear mistake and that the listing would have no impact on its business. Meanwhile, CATL asserted that it does not engage in any military-related...
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....