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...
US stocks plunged on Thursday (November 13), with the S&P 500 falling 1.5%, the Nasdaq 1.9%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average returning to a record high after a 1.5% decline amid a selloff in AI-related stocks and waning expectations of imminent Fed monetary easing. The market has drastically reduced the probability of a basis point cut on December 25 to around 50% from around 95% a month ago as several Fed officials voiced caution over further easing amid persistent inflation and a gap in official data following the government shutdown. Giant stocks such as Nvidia, Broadcom,...
Both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 reversed early gains and closed down 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively, on Thursday, retreating from new record highs reached earlier in the session amid downbeat corporate results. Siemens shares plunged 9.1% after the company released a disappointing profit forecast for next year. 3i Group plunged 17.2% after warning of more cautious projections, and Deutsche Telekom reversed early gains and closed the session slightly in the red, even after again raising its 2025 forecast. Meanwhile, Merck jumped 4.9% after reporting operating profit that beat market...
Wall Street traders bracing for a wave of economic releases after the end of the US shutdown drove stocks lower and bond yields higher amid concern over whether the data will be enough to clear the path for a Federal Reserve rate cut. With much of the optimism about the government reopening already priced in, the S&P 500 wiped out its November advance. Short-dated Treasuries, which are more sensitive to imminent Fed moves, underperformed as money markets project about even odds of a central bank reduction in...
The Hang Seng Index rose for the fourth day, climbing 0.6%, or 150.3 to 27,073.03 in Hong Kong. The index advanced to the highest closing level since Oct. 3. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.3%. Sino Biopharmaceutical Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 6.5%. Today, 50 of 88 shares rose, while 35 fell; 2 of 4 sectors were higher, led by commerce and industry stocks. Source: Bloomberg
European equities extended gains for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday, with both the STOXX 50 and the STOXX 600 rising nearly 0.2% to fresh record highs. The advance reflected a broadly positive market sentiment following the resolution of the US government shutdown. After the House of Representatives approved the funding bill, President Trump signed it into law and reopening the government. Investors also focused on a series of corporate updates. Shares of Merck surged almost 7%, making it one of the top performers on the STOXX 600, after the company reported operating earnings...
Japanese stocks continued their rally on Wednesday (November 13th), boosted by the end of the US government shutdown, which boosted investor risk appetite. Furthermore, a weaker yen fueled expectations of an interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BoJ), which boosted banking stocks. The Topix index rose 0.7% to 3,381.72, while the Nikkei index rose 0.4% to 51,281.83. The weaker yen was a key factor supporting the Japanese stock market, with the yen weakening to near 155 per US dollar. Some analysts, such as Kazuhiro Sasaki of Phillip Securities Japan, said the weaker yen could prompt the...
Hong Kong stocks fell on Thursday after hitting a one-month high, as investors opted to remain cautious ahead of the release of quarterly earnings reports from major tech companies, including Tencent and JD.com, as well as Chinese economic data for November. The Hang Seng Index fell 0.1% to 26,888.09 as of 10:06 a.m. local time, with the Hang Seng Tech Index down 0.7%. In mainland China, the CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index posted slight gains of 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively. Tencent shares fell 0.8% to HK$652, with the report expected to show profit growth slowing to 5% in the...
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Thursday, following mixed trading on Wall Street as investors kept an eye on the U.S. government, which appeared poised to reopen as soon as the end of the week. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.23% in early trading, while the Topix added 0.62% to hit a record high. South Korea's Kospi rose 1.07%, while the small-cap Kosdaq jumped 2.52%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.25%. Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index pointed to a lower open, trading at 26,899, against the index's previous close of 26,922.73. U.S. equity futures ticked lower...
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....