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's shares rose 97 points or 0.5% to 19,532 in early trade on Friday, ending losses in the prior five months amid gains across all sectors. Traders digested activity data from China showing retail turnover rose to an eight-month high in October and the jobless rate fell to a four-month low. Nevertheless, industrial output in the mainland grew less than expected. Also supporting sentiment were hopes of favorable outcomes from the Chinese central government's work forum and a Politburo meeting in December. Cathay Pacific jumped over 9%, on a plan to repurchase convertible bonds. Other...
The Shanghai Composite fell 1.73% to close at 3,380 while the Shenzhen Component dropped 2.83% to 11,038 on Thursday, giving back gains from the previous session amid a lack of market-moving news.Sentiment was cautious as investors continued to weigh the potential impact of US President-elect Donald Trump's trade policies and the appointment of anti-China figures on China's economy and markets.Additionally, Beijing's latest support measures to bolster the struggling economy failed to impress.Despite the finance ministry unveiling tax incentives for home and land transactions on Wednesday,...
The Nikkei 225 jumped 1.1% to above 38,900 while the broader Topix index rose 1% to 2,728 on Friday, with Japanese shares snapping a three-day slide as solid GDP data lifted market sentiment. Japan's economy expanded 0.3% year-on-year in the third quarter, ending two straight quarters of declines amid further improvements in private consumption and government spending. Local shares also benefited from a sharply weaker yen that boosted the profit outlook for Japan's export-driven industries. Meanwhile, investors remained cautious after U.S. Fed Chair Powell said that strong U.S. economic...
Stocks extended losses after Jerome Powell signaled the Federal Reserve is in no rush to cut rates as the economy is holding up. The equity market closed near session lows, US two-year yields spiked and the dollar climbed after Powell's remarks. Traders dialed back bets on a December rate reduction to around 55% — from 80% in the previous day. "Powell's speech was hawkish," said Neil Dutta at Renaissance Macro Research. "I think they will still cut in December since policy remains restrictive and they want to get to...
European stocks extended morning gains and closed sharply higher on Thursday, trimming the losses from the prior two sessions with support from a batch of earnings, while markets continued to gauge the impact that the new Republican-led US government may have on the global corporate sector. The Stoxx 50 added 1.9% to close at 4,830, and the Stoxx 600 rose 1.1% to close at 507. ASML, the Stoxx 50's heaviest company, soared 7% after the company forecasted sales to grow by 8% to 14% over the coming five years. Also, Siemens added 4.9% after posting a higher-than-expected profit although it...
Stocks struggled to make headway, following a furious post-election rally that spurred calls for a breather amid signs of buyer fatigue. Equities wavered near all-time highs, with the S&P 500 remaining close to technically overbought levels. That's after a surge that drove the benchmark gauge up 25% this year. Several measures highlight strong trader optimism, including the latest figures from the American Association of Individual Investors, which showed a spike in bullish sentiment last week. In the run-up to Jerome Powell's speech on Thursday, traders...
The Hang Seng plunged 388 points, or 2.0%, to close at 19,436 on Thursday, marking its fifth session of declines and hitting a seven-week low amid sharp declines across all sectors. It was the first time the Hang Seng remained fully open despite the bad weather, with many participants reluctant to enter any trades. Traders shrugged off China's latest efforts to reverse a property slump through tax incentives on home and land transactions. Concerns about Sino-U.S. tensions also grew as China tightened its grip on rare earth exports. The technology index slumped about 3%, taking its losses...
The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.48% to close at 38,536, while the broader Topix index fell 0.27% to 2,701 on Thursday, reversing gains from earlier in the session, weighed down by losses in the technology sector following similar moves on Wall Street overnight. Investors also continued to assess the potential impact of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's policies on the Japanese economy, particularly on export-driven industries. Meanwhile, traders kept a close eye on a sharply weaker yen, which could provide support for local equities in the near term. Technology stocks led the losses, with...
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....