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 Australian Dollar (AUD) is under pressure against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday, with AUD/USD down almost 0.50%, trading near 0.6510 at the time of writing. The pullback reflects broad Greenback resilience as markets digest a mixed batch of US labor data and stronger services activity, though the pair is holding firm above the 0.6500 psychological level. The US Dollar is regaining ground, with the DXY index hovering near 98.40, underpinned by cautious positioning ahead of Friday's Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP). Labor signals this week have pointed to softer hiring and rising layoffs, while...
Oil prices eased about 1% to a two-week low on Thursday on a surprise build in U.S. crude inventories last week and expectations that OPEC+ producers will increase output targets at a meeting this weekend. Brent crude futures fell 67 cents, or 1.0%, to $66.93 a barrel at 12:05 p.m. EDT (1603 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 59 cents, or 0.9%, to $63.38. That put Brent on track for its lowest close since August 20. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said energy firms added 2.4 million barrels of crude into storage during the week ended August 29. [EIA/S]...
Gold price edges lower during the North American session on Thursday as the Greenback recovers some ground, even though the latest round of economic data increased speculation that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates at the September meeting. The XAU/USD trades at $3,542, down 0.48%. Bullion eases 0.48% despite weak US jobs data fueling near-certainty of a September Fed rate cut The US economic docket revealed that the labor market continues to weaken after Initial Jobless Claims for the previous week rose. Other data showed that the trade deficit widened in July, while the...
Oil prices plunged 1.5% on Thursday, extending a more than 2% decline in the previous session, as investors awaited the weekend OPEC+ meeting where producers are expected to consider another production hike. Brent crude fell $1, or 1.5%, to $66.59 a barrel at 11:04 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1, or 1.6%, to $62.95 a barrel. The eight-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and its allies – known collectively as OPEC+ – will consider further production increases in October at a meeting on Sunday, two sources familiar with the discussions told...
The US dollar held steady on Thursday (September 4) amid a volatile week as investors grappled with a fragile bond market and data showing a weakening labor market, which has reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this month. With the Fed's focus on employment, Friday's key employment report will help set expectations for the central bank's next few policy meetings. Wednesday's data showed job openings fell to a 10-month low in July, although layoffs remained relatively low. Separate surveys of private-sector employment and monthly layoffs will be released...