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...
Silver (XAG/USD) is trading higher on Friday and on track for a 3.5% weekly rally from $31.20 lows, but the precious metal is struggling to find acceptance in the upper range of the $38.00s, which might lead to some bearish correction. The Fundamental background remains favourable, with recent US data putting pressure on the US Dollar to lower interest rates, but comments from St Louis Fed President Raphael Bostic warning about the inflationary impact of Trump's tariffs have eased hopes of a September cut, providing some support to the US Dollar. Beyond that, news reports by Bloomberg...
Oil prices headed for their longest decline since 2021, as traders judged that US efforts to end the war in Ukraine would not impact overall supply, even as Washington punished India for taking Moscow's crude. Brent fell near $66 a barrel, down for the seventh straight session, while West Texas Intermediate fell below $64. US President Donald Trump, who has set a Friday deadline for Moscow to agree to a ceasefire, said he is willing to meet with Vladimir Putin, even if the Russian leader has not yet agreed to sit down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Earlier this week, Trump...
Gold prices (XAU/USD) weakened from a more than two-week high in the $3,409-$3,410 range during the Asian session as traders opted to take profits ahead of the weekend. Furthermore, positive sentiment in equity markets and a modest recovery in the US dollar (USD) exerted downward pressure on gold bullion. However, a combination of factors acted as a boost for the precious metal, warranting caution for aggressive bearish traders. Investors remain cautious amid ongoing trade-related uncertainty, particularly following US President Donald Trump's new tariff threats this week, which could...
Silver traded above $38 an ounce on Friday (August 8) and is expected to rise about 3% this week, as expectations of a US interest rate cut and uncertainty over new tariffs boost demand for the precious metal. Higher-than-expected weekly jobless claims, coupled with last week's weaker-than-expected nonfarm payrolls report, have prompted traders to price in the possibility of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September, with another move possible in December. In political developments, President Donald Trump nominated Stephen Miran, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, to replace...
The Australian dollar (AUD) weakened against the US dollar (USD) on Friday (August 8), after three days of gains. The AUD/USD pair weakened as traders priced in a greater than 92% probability of a 25 basis point interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) next week, which would lower the cash rate to 3.60%. The likelihood of an RBA rate cut increased as core inflation eased to 2.7% in June, well below the RBA's 2-3% target, along with rising unemployment and slowing wage growth. Supporting this outlook, Australia's Trade Surplus widened to $5,365 million (month-on-month) in...