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...
Oil prices closed down nearly $1 on Friday as traders awaited talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, which could lead to an easing of the sanctions imposed on Moscow over the war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures settled 99 cents, or 1.5%, lower at $65.85 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures eased $1.16, or 1.8%, lower at $62.80. Trump arrived in Alaska on Friday for his summit with Putin after saying he wants to see a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine "today." Trump has said he believes Russia is prepared to end the war, but he has...
The dollar slipped on Friday as a data-heavy week wound down, keeping the case for a September Federal Reserve interest rate cut intact, while traders awaited talks in Alaska between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin regarding Ukraine. The dollar, which had jumped on Thursday as data showed U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in July, gave up most of those gains on Friday, and was set to finish the week 0.4% lower against a basket of currencies. "The PPI figure yesterday was a shock, but there is still little concrete evidence for a tariff-driven...
EUR/USD reverses its course, climbs on Friday, ignoring solid US Retail Sales data due to market participants still pricing in a Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut in September. The pair trades at 1.1702, up 0.47%. The market's attention turned to Anchorage, Alaska, for the summit of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with analysts' expectations remaining low for achieving a ceasefire in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Trump said that he doesn't know what would make the reunion a success and that he would like to reach a truce before Washington and Moscow can talk about other...
Oil prices fell early on Friday ahead of a summit meeting between the United States and Russia, while China released weak economic data. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for September delivery was last seen down US$0.48 to US$63.48 per barrel, while October Brent oil was down US$0.39 to US$66.45. The drop comes as U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ready to meet on Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss a potential ceasefire in Russia's war on Ukraine. A deal could see the United States easing sanctions on Russia's oil exports, adding more barrels to an...
Oil prices fell on Friday as traders awaited talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, which some expect could lead to an easing of the sanctions imposed on Moscow over the Ukraine war. Brent crude futures fell 50 cents, or 0.8%, to $66.34 a barrel by 0923 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures declined 57 cents, or 0.9%, to $63.39. At Friday's meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska, a ceasefire in the Ukraine is at the top of the agenda. Trump has said he believes Russia is prepared to end the war in Ukraine. However, he is also threatening...