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) loses ground against the US Dollar (USD) on Monday after registering more than 1% gains in the previous session. The AUD/USD pair gained ground as the US Dollar depreciated amid the rising likelihood of a Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate cut in September. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday that risks to the job market were rising, but also noted inflation remained a threat and that a decision wasn't set in stone. Powell also stated that the Fed still believes it may not need to tighten policy solely based on uncertain...
USD/JPY appreciates after registering around 1% losses in the previous session, trading around 147.40 during the Asian hours on Monday. However, the upside of the pair could be limited as the Japanese Yen (JPY) may regain ground after hawkish comments from the Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda at the Jackson Hole symposium on Saturday. BoJ Governor Ueda signaled his optimism that conditions for another interest rate hike were taking shape. He stated that wage hikes are spreading from large enterprises to small and medium enterprises and are likely to keep accelerating due to a...
Gold prices held firm as momentum for a US interest rate cut solidified after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell opened the door to a September rate cut. Gold reached nearly $3,370 per troy ounce, extending Friday's 1.1% gain when Powell raised risks to the labor market at Jackson Hole despite lingering inflation concerns. The 2-year Treasury yield—which is sensitive to policy—fell, while the dollar strength index weakened after the comments, boosting non-yielding, USD-priced gold. Derivatives market participants now rate the probability of a September rate cut above 85%, but the policy direction...
Oil steadied after a weekly gain as traders tracked tensions over supplies, as well as the wider mood for risk assets after the Federal Reserve signaled a return to interest-rate cuts. Brent traded near $68 a barrel after rising almost 3% last week, while West Texas Intermediate was above $63. The US has threatened to double a tariff on all imports from India to 50% in retaliation for the nation's purchases of Russian oil. Ahead of the penalty — which is set to take effect on Wednesday — Indian diplomats have said local processors would continue taking crude from...
In today's trading, the USD/JPY currency pair showed significant movement. After strengthening to a two-month high above 148.00 on Friday, August 22, 2025, USD/JPY experienced a sharp decline as the US dollar weakened following Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium. Powell's dovish remarks, indicating a possible interest rate cut at the September meeting, put pressure on the US dollar, while the Japanese yen remained under pressure from less than encouraging domestic economic data. Previously, USD/JPY reached an intraday high of 147.60 on August 21,...