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...
Initial jobless claims in the US fell by 16,000 to 199,000 in the week ending December 27, a typically volatile period due to the holiday season, and well below market expectations of 220,000. The reading marked the lowest level since January, excluding the seasonally volatile Thanksgiving week, when claims briefly dipped to a three-year low of 192,000. Continuing claims also declined, falling to 1.89 million in the week ending December 20 from a downwardly revised 1.91 million in the prior period. Source: Tradingeconomics.com
Geopolitical tensions in Latin America are escalating again, particularly regarding Venezuela and pressure from US policies. This situation has prompted the BRICS countries to take cautious but strategic steps, with a primary focus on maintaining regional stability and protecting long-term economic interests. Rather than open confrontation, the BRICS have chosen the path of diplomacy and regional cooperation. Brazil, as a BRICS member and a major power in Latin America, plays a key role in fostering dialogue and preventing conflict escalation. Meanwhile, China and Russia are strengthening...
President Donald Trump said the US attacked a facility inside Venezuela, which would be a significant escalation in his campaign against alleged drug trafficking operations there. "There was a big explosion at the dock area where they were loading the ships with drugs," Trump told reporters on Monday, confirming comments from last week. Trump's statement about the attack inside Venezuela would mark the first time the US has announced a ground offensive in the country. The US administration has been increasing pressure on the government of Nicolas Maduro by bombing ships in the region and...
President Donald Trump held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss efforts to end the war in Ukraine, according to the White House. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an interview that the two leaders had "concluded a positive call." The discussion came a day after Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, a meeting that did not produce any clear breakthroughs but saw the US president praise what he called "a lot of progress" toward a possible peace deal. Trump said after the meeting with...
The Kremlin said on Monday that Ukraine should withdraw its troops from the part of Donbas that it still controls if it wanted peace, and that if Kyiv did not strike a deal then it would lose yet more territory. Putin and Trump spoke on Sunday ahead of Trump's meeting in Miami with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said another call was planned very soon. Peskov refused to comment on the idea of a free economic zone in Donbas or on the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is controlled by Russia, saying that the Kremlin felt it was...