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...
Donald Trump will visit the Federal Reserve on Thursday (July 24th) to inspect a construction site he has criticized for cost overruns amid his escalating attacks on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates. The White House announced the visit in Trump's daily public schedule, stating, "THE PRESIDENT visits the Federal Reserve" at 4:00 p.m. In recent days, Trump has said he does not plan to fire Powell before the end of his term, but has not completely ruled out firing the central bank chief over his handling of the Fed's $2.5 billion renovation project. "This guy is...
U.S. business activity expanded at a faster pace in July as services-sector firms shrugged off concerns over government policies, though manufacturing activity contracted for the first time this year. The S&P Global Flash U.S. Composite PMI--a monthly gauge of activity in both the manufacturing and services sectors--rose to 54.6 in July from 52.9 in June, a survey showed Thursday. The reading above 50 suggests overall activity continued to expand, this time at a faster pace. However, business growth became increasingly unbalanced, as manufacturing weakened in contrast to a...
Initial jobless claims in the US fell by 4,000 from the previous week to 217,000 in the third week of July, well under market expectations that they would increase to 227,000. It was the sixth consecutive decline in initial claims to the lowest since April, extending the period of relative robustness in the US labor market following brief alarms earlier in the year. On the other hand, outstanding claims inched higher to 1,955,000 in the earlier week, marginally below market expectations but remaining at the second highest reading since November of 2021, reflecting a slowdown in the hiring...
The European Central Bank (ECB) is on track to leave its key interest rates unchanged after its July policy meeting, after having reduced rates at each of its last seven meetings. The decision will be announced on Thursday at 12:15 GMT. The interest rate decision will be followed by ECB President Christine Lagarde's press conference at 12:45 GMT. The ECB policy announcements will likely have a significant impact on the EUR/USD performance, as the Euro (EUR) is expected to experience intense volatility following the decision and during President Lagarde's press conference. With a...
The S&P Global UK Services PMI fell to 51.2 in July 2025 from 52.8 in June, compared to market forecasts of 53, according to preliminary estimates. Service providers reported that fragile domestic economic conditions and heightened geopolitical uncertainty weighed on sales pipelines. New orders in the services sector fell to their lowest level since April, with demand from abroad declining. The sector also saw a sharper decline in employment. On the pricing front, selling prices rose at a faster pace. Despite these challenges, private sector firms, on balance, remain optimistic,...