The Hang Seng Index reversed its downward trend in Hong Kong on Thursday (February 12th), weakening by around 0.9% to around 27,000 after a strong session earlier. This decline halted the momentum of the short term rally, as investors began to reduce risk in large cap stocks. Among the index's contributors, Tencent was a major drag, with its shares falling by around 2.3%, putting pressure on the technology sector, which has recently been a driving force behind market gains. Weakness in large cap companies like this typically quickly impacts sentiment due to their significant weighting in...
The economic activity in the United States' (US) manufacturing sector continued to contract in October, with the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropping to 48.7 from 49.1 in September. This reading came in weaker than the market expectation of 49.5. Other details of the PMI report showed that the Employment Index edged higher to 46 from 45.3 in this period, while the New Orders Index improved to 49.4 from 48.9. Finally, the Prices Pair Index, the input inflation component of the survey, declined to 58 from 61.9. Source: FXstreet
As the U.S. government shutdown disrupts federal employee paychecks across the country, it also exacerbates the financial hardship of attorneys who represent the poorest members of society when they are accused of federal crimes. Some private attorneys who serve as court-appointed attorneys for indigent federal criminal defendants have stopped taking new cases, arguing that their clients are being denied the right to effective counsel, according to court records and defense attorneys. About 12,000 private attorneys across the U.S. serve on court-run panels that provide counsel to...
Many people in China cheered the meeting Thursday between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, after months of escalating bilateral tensions. Every time the two leaders meet, it helps ease tensions and creates a "positive atmosphere," Alex Hongcai Xu, chair of Beijing Honglve Consulting, said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. "This atmosphere is beneficial for negotiations." "Each side lowering tariffs to below 10% would benefit capital flows and cooperation," Xu said. He noted that China can likely buy more U.S. soybeans and U.S.-made Boeing airplanes. Trump said Thursday...
The European Central Bank (ECB) announced on Thursday (October 30th) that it kept its key interest rates unchanged after its October policy meeting, as expected. This decision leaves the main refinancing operations rate, the marginal lending facility rate, and the deposit facility rate at 2.15%, 2.4%, and 2%, respectively. The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to maintain the main refinancing operations rate, the marginal lending facility rate, and the deposit facility rate at 2.15%, 2.4%, and 2%, respectively. The decision will be announced on Thursday at 13:15 GMT. The rate...
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he had agreed with President Xi Jinping to cut tariffs on China in exchange for Beijing cracking down on illegal fentanyl trade, resuming purchases of U.S. soybeans, and maintaining the flow of rare earth metal exports. Trump's face-to-face talks with Xi in the South Korean city of Busan, his first since 2019, marked the end of his brief trip to Asia, during which he also praised trade breakthroughs with South Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asian nations. "It was an extraordinary meeting," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after he...