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. President Donald Trump's top trade officials are meeting their Chinese counterparts in London on Monday for talks aimed at resolving an ongoing trade dispute between the world's two largest economies. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are representing the U.S. China's Foreign Ministry said Saturday that Vice Premier He Lifeng, Beijing's lead trade negotiator, will be in the U.K. between June 8-13, and that a meeting of the "China-U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism" would take place. National...
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress are determined to enact his tax-cut agenda in a political push that has largely abandoned longtime party claims of fiscal discipline, by simply denying warnings that the measure will balloon the federal debt. The drive has drawn the ire of Elon Musk, a once-close Trump ally and the biggest donor to Republicans in the 2024 election, who gave a boost to a handful of party deficit hawks opposed to the bill by publicly denigrating it as a "disgusting abomination," opening a public feud with Trump. But top congressional...
The UK 10-year gilt yield rose to 4.66% as investors awaited the government's spending review this Wednesday, which will set departmental budgets through 2029. The UK economy has shown resilience despite global uncertainty, with stronger business surveys and a solid Q1 GDP pointing to recovery from a weak end to 2024. However, concerns remain about high public debt levels, and the public is eager for improvements in living standards, according to Finance Minister Rachel Reeves. Markets expect the Bank of England to keep interest rates steady at its June 19 meeting. This week's key UK data...
Three top aides to US President Donald Trump will meet with their Chinese counterparts in London on Monday for talks aimed at resolving a trade dispute between the world's two largest economies that has unsettled global markets. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will represent the United States in the talks, Trump announced in a post on his Truth Social platform without providing further details. China's foreign ministry said Saturday that Vice Premier He Lifeng would be in Britain between June 8 and June 13,...
China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) dropped at an annual pace of 0.1% in May after declining 0.1% in April, the National Bureau of Statistics of China reported on Monday. The market consensus was for a 0.2% decrease in the reported period. Chinese CPI inflation came in at -0.2% MoM in May versus April's 0.1% increase. China's Producer Price Index (PPI) fell 3.3% YoY in May, following a 2.7% decline in April. The data came in lower than the market consensus of 3.2%. Market reaction to China's inflation data At the press time, the AUD/USD pair is up 0.30% on the day to trade at...