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...
European markets were lower on Friday after a rocky start to 2025 for stocks around the world. The Stoxx 600 was down 0.44% by 3:11 p.m. London time, with major regional bourses and sectors mostly trading in negative territory. Autos stocks led losses, down 1.97% as they extended Thursday's decline, while travel and leisure stocks shed 1.7%. One of the few sectors to rise was financial services stocks, which were last seen 0.46% higher. Oil and gas stocks also rose over 1%, led by gains for Finnish oil refiner Neste, which climbed 4.6% and was on course for its best week since October on...
The Hang Seng rose 137 points, or 0.7%, to close at 19,760 on Friday after plunging more than 2% in the previous session, boosted by gains in most sectors, including consumer, technology and property. The prospect of a rate cut from the People's Bank of China this year supported sentiment. In addition, traders welcomed the second round of a CNY55 billion swap facility operation by the Chinese central bank to support the country's stock market. Separately, China's top planning agency announced an expansion of consumer subsidies to cover smartphones and other electronics, aimed at boosting...
European markets were slightly lower as trading began on Friday after a rocky start to 2025 for stocks around the world. The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 0.08% shortly after the market opened, with most sectors in negative territory. Mining stocks led the losses, down 0.86%, while financial services stocks rose 0.54% after a day in the red on Thursday. France's CAC 40 was last down 0.45%, while Germany's DAX fell 0.15%. Britain's FTSE 100 traded around the flatline. The Stoxx 600 closed higher on Thursday after a volatile first trading session of the year. Investors weighed regional and...
The Hong Kong stock market climbed 248 points or 1.2% to 19,838 in Friday morning trade, partly recovering from a slump of around 2% in the prior session, with gains across most sectors, particularly tech, consumers, and property. However, markets are on track to post a weekly decline, down around 1% so far, due to looming tariff threats from the incoming US administration under Donald Trump. Meanwhile, local data showed that retail sales in Hong Kong fell for the ninth consecutive month in November, shrinking by 8.3% yoy and deepening from October's 4.8% decline. Source : Trading Economics
European markets shifted higher Thursday afternoon, following a mixed start to 2025 trading. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index reversed earlier losses to trade 0.5% higher by 3:50 p.m. London time, as regional bourses reopened after the New Year's Day holiday. Oil and gas stocks led gains, rising 2.3%, while utilities also climbed 1.6%. Banking stocks and autos dipped, however, losing 0.46% and 0.69% respectively, as uncertainty remained over the economic outlook and potential tariffs under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. France's CAC 40 also reversed early losses to gain 0.18%, though...
European markets started 2025 on a cautious note, with the Stoxx 50 down 0.4% and the Stoxx 600 almost flat on Thursday. Gains in oil, gas and mining stocks, up 1.5% and 1.3% respectively, were offset by declines in banking (-0.1%) and media (-0.3%). After solid performances in 2024—up 8.3% for the Stoxx 50 and 6% for the Stoxx 600—investors are now looking for fresh drivers amid ongoing concerns over U.S. tariffs and European political instability. In economic news, Spanish factory activity picked up in December 2024, with the Spanish HCOB Manufacturing PMI rising to 53.3 from 53.1 in...
The Hang Seng plunged 437 points, or 2.2%, to close at 19,623 in the first trading session of 2025, pressured by further selling in mainland markets following sluggish Chinese factory activity in December. The index fell to a near one-month low, with concerns growing over potential tariff hikes by the Trump administration and their broad impact on Chinese exports. Nervous traders anticipated that markets would lack clear direction until the National People's Congress in early March when Beijing is due to announce its growth targets for the new year. Losses were broad, with financials down...
HK50 decreased to a 4-week low of 19563.00 Index Points. Over the past 4 weeks, Hong Kong Stock Market Index (HK50) lost 0.84%, and in the last 12 months, it increased 17.63%. Source: Trading Ecnomics
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....