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 fell 197 points, or 0.8%, to 26,282 in Friday's morning session, retreating after their biggest one-day gain since mid-August amid caution ahead of China's October trade data. Exports are expected to slow sharply after months of front-loading to avoid U.S. tariffs, while imports likely stay weak amid fragile consumer sentiment. Attention also turned to October Chinese CPI and PPI data due over the weekend, with deflation risks still a concern. On Wall Street, stocks declined overnight as renewed tech weakness and worries over the prolonged U.S. government shutdown hit...
Asian stocks slipped at the open on Friday (November 7), following a choppy session on Wall Street. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell about 0.2%, led by losses in Japan, while South Korea and Australia also edged lower. In the US, the S&P 500 fell 1.1% and the Nasdaq 100 slumped 1.9% for the second time in three sessions, as AI stocks from Nvidia and Palantir sold off. The volatility indicator briefly touched 20, reflecting growing market anxiety. In bonds, Treasury prices edged lower early in the Asian session after a strong rally earlier, when the 10-year yield posted its biggest daily...
Japanese stocks weakened on Friday following an overnight plunge in US technology stocks. A stronger yen also weighed on sentiment, with chip-related stocks leading the decline. Renesas Electronics fell 3.9%, SoftBank Group slumped 7.3%, and Advantest plunged 6.1%. In the forex market, USD/JPY moved to 152.95 from 153.87 at Thursday's close in Tokyo. A stronger yen typically weighs on exporters because overseas earnings are eroded upon conversion, putting pressure on the technology and chip component sectors. Investors are now awaiting the release of financial reports and details of Prime...
European stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday after a brief uptick the previous day as investors weighed a fresh round of mixed corporate earnings and signs of higher unemployment in the US. The STOXX 50 fell 1% to 5,613 and the STOXX 600 fell 0.7% to 567. Commerzbank shares slipped 2% after the lender reported a surprise 7.9% year-on-year drop in net profit. Also, Diageo fell 6.5% following a downgrade to its full-year outlook, while Maersk lost 5.1% despite posting upbeat results and Rheinmetall fell 0.5% despite posting a 20% increase in sales. On the upside, DHL jumped 5.4% to rank...
Strong evidence of a cooling US labor market rippled through Wall Street, spurring a rally in bonds as traders boosted their bets the Federal Reserve will cut rates in December. A slide in megacaps dragged down stocks. With the scarcity of data caused by the federal shutdown, investors have turned to private readings such as the Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. report showing companies announced the most job cuts for any October in over 20 years. Following the numbers, money markets now imply an about 60% chance of a...
The Hang Seng Index rose 2.1% at 26,485.90 in Hong Kong. The move was the biggest since rising 2.4% on Oct. 20 and follows the previous session's decrease of 0.1%. Today, commerce and industry stocks led the market higher, as all sectors gained; 83 of 88 shares rose, while 4 fell. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.1%. China Hongqiao Group Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 9.9%. Source : Bloomberg
European stocks opened lower on Thursday, as investors reacted to another flurry of corporate earnings. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.3% lower 20 minutes into the session, with most sectors and major bourses in negative territory. France's CAC 40 led losses among major regional indexes, with a decline of 0.7%. It's a busy day for earnings with third-quarter reports due from a slew of regional companies. AstraZeneca CEO: ‘We decided to be cautious' AstraZeneca held its guidance steady on Thursday morning, after reporting better-than-expected third-quarter revenues and profit. Total...
The Nikkei 225 index closed up 1.34% to 50,883.68 on Thursday (November 6th), helped by solid US data: the ISM services index hit an eight-month high and the ADP added 42,000 jobs. Sentiment improved after valuation concerns eased, although the market now sees the chance of a Fed rate cut in December down to around 60% from 70% at the start of the week. Domestically, Japan's Services PMI remained in expansion at 53.1, while the composite PMI was at 51.5, and cash wages rose 1.9%, driven by a surge in bonuses. Corporate news: Nissan targets record profits from its headquarters sale-leaseback...
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....