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...
If Israel failed to kill Hamas leaders in an air strike on Qatar on Tuesday, it would succeed next time, the Israeli ambassador to the United States said after the operation, which raised concerns it would torpedo efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza. "Right now, we may be subject to a little bit of criticism. They'll get over it. And Israel is being changed for the better," Yechiel Leiter told Fox News' "Special Report" programme late on Tuesday. Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with the attack in the Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday, escalating its military action...
Producer inflation in the United States, as measured by the change in the Producer Price Index (PPI), fell to 2.6% annually in August from 3.3% in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Wednesday. This figure was lower than market expectations of 3.3%. The United States will release its August Producer Price Index (PPI) on Wednesday. The report, compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), will be released one day before the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the same month, scheduled for Thursday. Both indexes measure inflation, with the CPI focusing on the total...
Poland shot down a drone in its airspace on Wednesday with the support of military aircraft from its NATO allies. This is the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired during Russia's war in Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament that this was "the closest open conflict we have faced since World War II," although he also said he had "no reason to believe we are on the brink of war." Moscow denied responsibility for the incident. European leaders, who have recently been trying to persuade US President Donald Trump to join them in...
U.S. President Donald Trump has urged European Union officials to levy tariffs of up to 100% on China and India as part of a strategy to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing a U.S. official and an EU diplomat. Trump made the request during a conference call with EU sanctions envoy David O'Sullivan and other officials, according to the report. Washington signaled it would impose similar duties if Brussels joined the effort, the report said. Both China and India are major buyers of Russian crude and remain key to keeping Moscow's economy afloat as...
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday that the preliminary estimate of the Current Employment Statistics (CES) national benchmark revision to total Nonfarm employment for March 2025 is -911,000, or -0.6%. The United States (US) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will publish the 2025 preliminary benchmark revision to the Establishment Survey Data on Tuesday, September 9. The preliminary revision will cover the 12-month period through March 2025 before the final benchmark revision is reported within the employment report of February 2026. "Official establishment survey...