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...
Gold (XAU/USD) struggles to capitalize on its modest Asian session gains to a three-day peak and attracts some intraday sellers near the $3,375 region. The global risk sentiment remains well supported by the optimism over an extension of the US-China trade truce for another three months and the US-Russia summit on Friday aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. This, in turn, acts as a headwind for the safe-haven precious metal. However, a combination of supporting factors favors bullish traders and backs the case for the emergence of some dip-buying. The US Dollar (USD) selling bias remains...
Oil steadied near a two-month low after the International Energy Agency said the market is on track for record oversupply next year. Brent traded near $66 a barrel after closing at its lowest since June 5 on Wednesday, while West Texas Intermediate was around $63. Global oil inventories will accumulate at a rate faster than the average buildup during the pandemic year of 2020, the IEA's monthly report showed. Meanwhile, traders are monitoring the lead-up to Friday's summit between the US and Russian presidents, given that it may result in an easing or tightening of...
Oil prices edged higher on Thursday, regaining ground after a sell-off in the previous session, with the upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin raising risk premiums in the market. Brent crude futures were up 28 cents, or 0.43%, at $65.91 a barrel at 0057 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 23 cents, or 0.37%, to $62.89. Both contracts hit their lowest in two months on Wednesday after bearish supply guidance from the U.S. government and the International Energy Agency (IEA). Trump on Wednesday threatened...
Gold edges higher in the early Asian session amid hopes for Fed rate cuts that would bolster the appeal of the non-interest-bearing precious metal. Treasury Secretary Bessent said on Wednesday that there was a good chance the Fed could cut rates by 50 basis points next month. In a television interview, Bessent suggested borrowing costs might eventually drop by 1.5 percentage points or more. Bessent's comments increased speculation that the Fed will cut rates in September, with money market fully pricing in a 25bps rate cut, ANZ Research analysts say in a research report. This boosted...
GBP/USD gained even more ground on Wednesday, climbing nearly six-tenths of one percent as US Dollar (USD) flows continues to wither. The Pound Sterling (GBP) is enjoying a much-needed bullish shift in fundamentals as United Kingdom (UK) economic data outpaces new soft spots appearing in key economic figures from the United States (US). GBP/USD is extending one-sided bullish momentum north of the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), climbing into 1.3600 after closing flat or higher for all but one of the last nine trading sessions. Cable has risen over 3.35% bottom-to-top after finding...