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...
Hong Kong stocks jumped 177 points, or 0.9%, to 19,874 in early trading on Wednesday, marking their first gain in four sessions. The gains were supported by a small rise in U.S. stock futures ahead of an anticipated Fed rate cut later in the day. The market moved away from its lowest level in more than a week, hit a day earlier, with all sectors gaining, especially technology and consumer discretionary. Source: Trading Economics
Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed on Wednesday, following losses on Wall Street that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average down for a ninth straight day. Investors in Asia were assessing trade data from Japan ahead of the Bank of Japan's interest rate decision later this week. The country's exports grew 3.8% in November year-on-year, beating economists polled by Reuters' forecasts for a 2.8% increase. Imports, meanwhile, fell 3.8%, well below expectations for a 1% expansion. The figures put Japan's trade balance in deficit at 117.6 billion yen ($765.2 million), higher than expectations...
Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell for a fourth day on Wednesday as investors remained cautious ahead of monetary policy decisions by the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan. A decline in U.S. semiconductor stocks also dragged on the market. The Nikkei index was down 0.2 percent at 39,275.88 as of 9:07 a.m. in Tokyo The Topix index was little changed at 2,726.90 Of the 2,126 stocks in the index, 819 rose and 1,132 fell, while 175 were unchanged If the market starts to reduce expectations for a Fed rate cut next year, it's hard to predict how U.S. stocks will react, weighing on Japanese...
US stock index futures fell, causing a rally in leading technology stocks to pause, as investors await a raft of economic data and the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. Futures on the S&P 500 were down 0.3% at 5:42 a.m. in New York, while tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed after the index posted back-to-back records. CNH Industrial shares edged up in premarket trading after the machine-tool company was upgraded to overweight from equal-weight at Morgan Stanley, which forecast that 2025 will provide clarity on the major equipment cycle. The US stock rally...
The Hang Seng lost 95 points or 0.5% to finish at 19,700 on Tuesday, down for the third session amid a steep decline in US futures following a record close on Wall Street Nasdaq, ahead of an anticipated interest rate reduction from the Fed Wednesday. The index hits its lowest level in over a week, weighed by the third straight session of losses in Chinese markets and vigilance before the PBoC's monthly review of key lending rates later this week, after record low levels in November. Further declines were limited by a report from Reuters that China plans a record top budget deficit of 4% in...
European markets opened in negative territory on Tuesday as central banks took center stage this week. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index opened 0.4% lower with all sectors in negative territory, as did all major European bourses. The focus of global markets this week is the U.S. Federal Reserve's final two-day policy meeting of the year. The meeting begins on Tuesday, with the central bank's monetary policy decision due on Dec. 18. Traders are pricing in a 95% chance of a quarter-point rate cut on Wednesday, according to CME Group's Fed Watch tool. Investors will also be looking for...
The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.23% to close at 39,365, while the broader Topix index fell 0.37% to 2,728 on Tuesday, reversing earlier gains on caution ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision later this week. The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points, but could signal fewer cuts next year amid concerns over a resurgence in inflation. At home, speculation is growing that the Bank of Japan may delay a rate hike this week as BOJ officials wait for more time to assess the latest economic data. In corporate news, Advantest shares plunged 9.1% after it...
The Hang Seng Index opened down 117 points, or 0.59%, at 19,678 points this morning, reflecting a cautious market sentiment. The China Enterprises Index fell by 37 points, or 0.52%, to 7,095 points, while the Tech Index declined by 27 points, or 0.61%, settling at 4,387 points. By 10.04am, the Hang Seng Index was trading at 19,735.99, down 59.50 points, or 0.30%. Technology stocks displayed a generally weak performance, with Tencent decreasing by 0.8% and Alibaba falling by 0.5%. Meituan saw a more pronounced drop of 1.6%, while Xiaomi managed a slight gain of 0.6%. JD.com and Kuaishou...
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....