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...
The Nikkei 225 fell 212 points, or 0.4%, to close at 50,255 on Wednesday, reversing early gains as sentiment turned sour amid a stronger yen that eroded overseas earnings for export-heavy firms. Autos led declines, with Toyota down 1.8%, Subaru off 1.2%, and Honda Motor slipping modestly. Financial shares also retreated, giving back part of last week's sharp rally after the Bank of Japan last week raised rates to a three-decade high. Meanwhile, minutes from the central bank's October meeting showed policymakers broadly agreed real interest rates remain low, reinforcing expectations of...
Hong Kong shares edged up 51 points, or 0.2%, to 25,824 in Wednesday morning trade, reversing mild losses from the previous session after Wall Street's S&P 500 closed at a fresh high overnight as data showed the U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in two years. Investors weighed reports that China plans to step up urban renewal and strengthen efforts to stabilize the property market starting in 2026, at the launch of its new Five-Year Plan (2026–2030). However, gains were capped by local data showing Hong Kong's current account surplus narrowed to HKD 98.2 billion in Q3 2025 from HKD...
Asian stocks rose at the opening session today, tracking significant gains on Wall Street, which hit a record high after data showed the US economy grew at its fastest pace in two years. The MSCI Asia Index rose 0.2%, with Japan and South Korea gaining, while Australian shares edged lower in the shortened trading session. US stocks also posted gains for the fourth straight day, driven by major technology stocks, which rose nearly 1%. Investors' attention was also focused on commodity markets, with gold prices surging to a new record above $4,500 per ounce. The rise in gold prices was driven...
Japan's Nikkei index edged up 0.2% on Wednesday (December 23rd), reaching 50,519.41, following gains on Wall Street overnight. The rise was fueled by recently released US economic data, which painted a mixed picture but still showed resilience. Despite concerns about some indicators, solid employment data and a sharp rise in US corporate profits reinforced the view that the Federal Reserve is likely to keep interest rates unchanged at its upcoming January meeting. Among the best-performing stocks on Japan's main index, Screen Holdings surged 7.4%, while Sumitomo Metal Mining rose 4.2%, and...
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to close at a new record on Tuesday (December 24th), while the Nasdaq also rose 0.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3%, as technology and energy stocks led broad gains. Large-cap stocks mostly rose, led by Nvidia's 3% gain, while Apple rose 0.5%, Microsoft edged up 0.4%, Alphabet added 1.4%, Amazon rose 1.6%, MetaTrader 5 rose 0.5%, and Broadcom rose 2.3%. In contrast, the real estate and consumer staples sectors underperformed. Eli Lilly shares fell 0.5% despite the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approving Novo Nordisk's weight-loss pill....
European markets closed higher on Tuesday, paring the previous session's losses. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up 0.3%, notching a new record closing high, lifted by surging shares of Copenhagen-listed Novo Nordisk. That brings the benchmark's year-to-date gains to 16%. With a week to go, it looks on track for its third consecutive year of gains. Investors are watching Novo Nordisk stock after the Wegovy-maker gained FDA approval for the first-ever GLP-1 pill, giving the Danish firm a head start over U.S. rival Eli Lilly. Novo stock closed 9.2% higher as the best performer among...
Stocks fell slightly on Tuesday after delayed economic data came in well above expectations, signaling that the U.S. economy may be holding up better than originally thought. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 53 points lower, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite traded around the flatline. The Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy expanded at 4.3% pace in the third quarter, much better than the 3.2% estimate that economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast. The report — which was postponed from its initially planned release date of Oct. 30 because of the...
European stocks edged higher on Tuesday, with the STOXX 50 up 0.1% and the STOXX 600 gaining 0.3% to reach a fresh record high, rebounding after a mildly negative session the previous day. The advance was led by the pharmaceutical sector. Shares of Novo Nordisk surged nearly 6% after the company received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to market an oral version of its obesity treatment, Wegovy, in the US. Other major drugmakers also posted gains, with AstraZeneca rising 0.8%, Novartis adding 0.7%, and Roche up 0.6%. Defensive sectors, including telecommunications and...
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....