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...
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said the Trump administration is prepared to "roll the date forward" with trading partners negotiating in good faith if the deadline marking the end of the 90-day pause on President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs is reached with no deal. "It is highly likely that those countries - or trading blocs as is the case with the EU - who are negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward to continue the good-faith negotiations," Bessent told the House Ways and Means Committee. "If someone is not negotiating, then we will...
In a post published on Truth Social on Wednesday (11/6), US President Donald Trump said that a trade deal with China is done and added that the deal is now waiting for final approval from himself and Chinese President Xi Jinping. "The complete magnets, and the rare earths that are needed, will be supplied, up front, by China. Likewise, we will provide what has been agreed to to China, including Chinese students who use our colleges and universities (which is always nice of me!)," Trump said, adding: "We get a total tariff of 55%, China gets 10%. Very good relationship! Thank you for your...
U.S. core inflation rose less than forecast in May for a fourth straight month, suggesting businesses are looking for ways to limit how much of their higher rates cost customers. The consumer price index, which excludes the often volatile food and energy categories, rose 0.1% from April, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Wednesday. It was up 2.8% from a year ago. (alg) Source: Bloomberg
The US and China ended two days of high-stakes trade talks with a plan to revive the flow of sensitive goods — a framework that now awaits the blessing of Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. After about 20 hours of negotiations in London, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the two sides had laid out a framework for implementing the Geneva consensus that lowered tariffs last month. "First of all, we have to get rid of the negatives," he said. "Now, we can move forward to try to have positive trade, to increase trade." While the more upbeat tone should reassure investors worried about the...
For months, Donald Trump has imposed unprecedented levels of tariffs and trade restrictions on China, part of a strategy to force Xi Jinping into talks that the U.S. president hopes will help cut the trade deficit and boost American manufacturing. With U.S. tariffs soaring to 145% and the Trump administration boasting that it has the upper hand over China, Beijing has turned the tables, essentially halting exports of the one thing the modern world can't live without: rare-earth magnets. As slowing shipments of products containing obscure elements like dysprosium and terbium begin to pinch...