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...
Annual inflation in the United States (US), as measured by changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to 2.9% in August from 2.7% in July, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Thursday. This figure was in line with market expectations. On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.4% after a 0.2% increase in July. Follow our live coverage of US inflation data and market reaction Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 3.1% annually in August, in line with July data and analyst estimates. (alg) Source: FXstreet
The European Central Bank (ECB) announced on Thursday that it kept its key interest rates unchanged after its September policy meeting, as expected. With this decision, the main refinancing operations rate, the marginal lending facility rate, and the deposit facility rate remained at 2.15%, 2.4%, and 2%, respectively. (alg) Source: FXstreet
Less than four months ago, President Donald Trump met with Qatar's leader, praised his magnificent palace, and signed a comprehensive defense agreement with the Gulf monarchy, a key ally that hosts the largest US base in the Middle East. Israel's surprise attack on Hamas leaders in Doha on Tuesday has shaken the relationship, angered Trump, and drawn strong condemnation from Doha and its Western allies. Ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and targeting the Palestinian militant group's political offices, the attack killed a Qatari security agent and five others, but failed...
Floods on Indonesia's holiday island of Bali have killed at least nine this week and affected 600 people, blocking off major roads in the capital and disrupting a busy travel destination, officials said on Wednesday. Continuous heavy rains between Tuesday evening and Wednesday caused the floods and killed five people in Bali's capital Denpasar, Abdul Muhari, the spokesperson of the country's disaster mitigation agency said in a statement. Four more people were killed in the regions of Jembrana, Gianyar, and Badung, Abdul added. Two people were still missing. Out of 600 people affected,...
The White House update to its tariff schedule is a "welcome development" after challenges caused by a recent U.S. Customs ruling on gold bars, the London Bullion Market Association said on Wednesday. The executive order, issued on September 5 by President Donald Trump, updates the tariff schedule for certain goods, including key gold products. The White House referred to them as reciprocal tariffs. Under the update, gold bars imported from "aligned partner" countries under certain codes of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States - including 7108.11.00, 7108.12.50, 7108.13.10,...