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 stocks fell on Tuesday (October 14th), with the Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600 both down around 0.3%, as escalating US-China trade tensions weighed on sentiment. Risk-sensitive sectors such as automotive and mining led the decline after Beijing imposed sanctions on the US units of a South Korean shipping company and warned of further retaliation, raising concerns of new trade disruptions. Defensive sectors, including telecommunications, real estate, and utilities, outperformed as investors sought safe havens. Among the stocks that moved, Michelin plunged 8.9% after the tire maker issued a...
Stocks fell Tuesday, resuming the selling seen late last week, as trade worries were reignited overnight by China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 504 points, or 1.1%. The S&P 500 lost 1.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite shed nearly 2%. The selling was led by the AI shares that have driven the bull market, but also were the biggest losers during Friday's rout. Nvidia lost more than 3%. Tesla and Oracle lost 2.5% and 1.4%, respectively. China imposed sanctions on five of South Korea's Hanwha Ocean's U.S. subsidiaries. This will forbid organizations and individuals in China from...
European stocks fell on Tuesday, with the STOXX 50 down 1% and the STOXX 600 down 0.8%, after posting sharp gains in the previous session. The mining, automotive, banking, and industrial sectors led the decline due to renewed concerns over the US-China trade dispute. Both countries began imposing new port fees on each other's ships, fueling concerns about the outlook for global trade. On the corporate side, several earnings reports soured market sentiment. BP fell around 2% after warning of a potential impairment charge of up to $500 million in the third quarter, while Rio Tinto fell 1.4%...
The Nikkei 225 index closed sharply lower by 2.6% to 46,847.32 on Tuesday, posting its biggest daily decline since April 11. The pressure came after the Komeito party withdrew from Japan's governing coalition, increasing political uncertainty and raising concerns of a short-term correction in the stock market. This situation is also considered to complicate the path of Sanae Takaichi, the new president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), to become the next prime minister. Major stocks also fell, with MonotaRO plunging 10%, Furukawa Electric dropping 7.5%, and Chugai Pharmaceutical...
Hong Kong stocks rose on Tuesday, ending six consecutive days of declines. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.2% to 25,925, as investors expressed optimism that tensions between China and the United States would ease. This hope arose after the two countries opened the door to renewed negotiations. Blue-chip stocks such as Pop Mart and BYD led the gains, while gold and technology stocks also moved positively. This increase signals a stabilization in the market after a previous sell-off triggered by geopolitical concerns. US President Donald Trump signaled a possible meeting with Chinese President Xi...
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Tuesday, breaking ranks with Wall Street that soared after U.S. President Donald Trump softened his stance on China. Following a slew of tit-for-tat trade restrictions and heated exchanges, Trump said "Don't worry about China, it will all be fine!" in a Truth Social post Monday. China has slapped fees on U.S. ships for docking at its ports, in retaliation for similar charges imposed by Washington on Chinese ships. Both fees are scheduled to kick in Tuesday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index declined 1.34%, while the Topix lost 1.31%. South Korea's Kospi...
The Nikkei 225 index fell 1.4% to 47,406.06 on Tuesday (October 14th), pressured by rising political uncertainty in Japan. JPMorgan analysts called this decline a complete reversal of the "Takaichi trade"—a term referring to expectations of fiscal expansion, delayed interest rate hikes, a weaker yen, rising stocks, and a steeper yield curve. Several blue-chip stocks posted sharp declines, with MonotaRO plunging 6%, Ebara Corp. down 4.85%, and Chugai Pharmaceutical falling 4.3%. Meanwhile, USD/JPY was steady at 152.49, compared to 152.29 at Monday's close in New York, after Japanese markets...
Major US stock indexes closed sharply higher on Monday (October 13), recovering from Friday's sharp sell-off after President Trump took a softer stance on US-China trade tensions, assuring that relations with Beijing "will be fine." The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 rose 1.6% and 2.2%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 593 points, as investors returned to riskier assets following Trump's comments. Trump's remarks helped ease fears of an escalating trade war after last week's threat of 100% tariffs on Chinese goods wiped out approximately $2 trillion in market value....
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....