The Hang Seng rose 171 points or 0.7% to close at 25,082 on Wednesday, reversing early losses as all sectors ended in the green. It was the fourth session of gains, helped by upbeat Chinese trade data. Exports accelerated in July due to front-loaded shipments, while imports saw the strongest growth in a year amid continued policy support from Beijing. Traders remained focused on the August 12 deadline, watching for progress in U.S.-China tariff negotiations. Tech shares posted modest gains despite Trump's remarks that the U.S. may impose 100% tariffs on certain chip imports—an outcome...
Silver prices declined to below $33 per ounce on Wednesday, reversing gains from the previous session as easing global trade tensions reduced demand for safe-haven assets. The pullback followed productive US-China trade talks over the weekend in Switzerland, where both sides agreed to temporarily lower tariffs to 30% and 10%, respectively, for a 90-day period—a notable step toward de-escalation. While this has eased market fears of a prolonged trade war, uncertainty remains over what will happen once the agreement expires, with further negotiations expected in the coming weeks. Reduced...
The U.S. dollar slips lower Wednesday adding to the previous session's sharp losses, as a cooler-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation release bolstered the case for further interest rate cuts. At 04:00 ET (08:00 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, fell 0.3% to 100.560, following a 0.8% slide on Tuesday. Dollar steadies after hefty drop U.S. consumer price index inflation was weaker than expected last month, according to data released Tuesday, alleviating some fears about the impact of the Trump trade tariffs. This hit the dollar...
Oil prices fell on Wednesday as traders eyed a potential surge in U.S. crude inventories, although prices held near two-week highs amid optimism after the United States and China agreed to temporarily lower their tit-for-tat tariffs. Brent crude futures fell 39 cents, or 0.6%, to $66.24 a barrel by 0400 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 36 cents, or 0.6%, to $63.31. Both benchmarks had risen more than 2.5% in the previous session. The world's two largest economies agreed on Monday to pause their trade war for at least 90 days, with the United States cutting tariffs...
Gold fell on Wednesday as a de-escalation in US-China trade tensions dampened safe-haven demand, while markets eyed another batch of inflation data to gauge the Federal Reserve's policy path. Spot gold was down 0.7% at $3,226.11 an ounce, as of 0430 GMT. US gold futures were down 0.6% at $3,229.50. "The positive developments in US trade policy (are) dampening the appeal of gold in the short term," said Kyle Rodda, financial markets analyst at Capital.com. "I think if we see continued progress in trade negotiations and deals being done between the US and its trading partners, gold could...
Silver (XAG/USD) extended its previous day's retracement slide from the $33.20-$33.25 resistance zone and triggered some follow-through selling during the Asian session on Wednesday (5/14). The white metal dropped to a fresh intraday low, around the $31.60 area in the last hour, although the mixed technical setup warrants caution before positioning for deeper losses. Against the backdrop of a decent recovery from the $28.45 area, or the YTD trough touched in April, the recent price action along a three-week-old descending channel constitutes the formation of a bullish flag pattern. However,...