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 better-than-expected JOLTS data briefly strengthened the dollar, indicating the relatively solid US labor market, but gold continued to rise. The market interpreted this data as a signal that the US economy hadn't yet made a hard landing, but market participants' primary focus had shifted from "daily data" to the Fed's medium-term policy stance. The end of the high-interest rate cycle has made gold attractive as a hedge, so even though the dollar strengthened after the JOLTS release, selling pressure on gold was limited, and the price of the precious metal remained at a high level. The...
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Tuesday there is "plenty of room" to cut interest rates further, though he noted that rising inflation could alter this outlook. Speaking at the WSJ CEO Council, Hassett, who is widely considered a front-runner to become the next Federal Reserve chair, compared the current economic environment to the 1990s, describing it as a "potentially extremely transformative time." When asked how he would respond if President Donald Trump requested interest rate cuts that he personally disagreed with, Hassett provided a specific example of when rate cuts...
The latest survey data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported an increase in JOLTs Job Openings, a key indicator of the health of the US job market. The actual number of job openings has reached 7.658 million, significantly exceeding the forecasted figure of 7.200 million. In comparison to the forecast, the actual job opening figure represents a considerable increase, indicating a stronger-than-expected performance of the US job market. Analysts had predicted a slight decrease in job vacancies, but the actual data has defied these expectations, demonstrating the resilience and...
US President Donald Trump criticized Fed Chair Jerome Powell in an interview with Politico during the European trading session on Tuesday for not lowering interest rates, calling him "not a smart guy." Trump also discussed the current status of ceasefire talks with Russia and Ukraine. Additional Statements Will make support for an immediate interest rate cut a litmus test in selecting a new Fed chair (well, of course). Ukraine hasn't held elections in a long time. Russia undoubtedly has a stronger position. On Ukraine: Europe isn't handling it well. European countries are 'rotting,'...
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) will be released on Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Due to the prolonged government shutdown, this publication will provide data on changes in the number of job openings in September and October, as well as the number of layoffs and resignations. Ahead of the announcement, market participants expected job openings to reach 7.2 million in October. The last report released showed 7.227 million job openings in August. This report will be released 24 hours before the Federal Reserve's December monetary policy announcement and...