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 price rallies more than 1.50% on Friday following the release of a dismal Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report in the United States (US), which showed the jobs market is cooling faster than expected. Also, an escalation of geopolitical risks between Russia and the US prompted traders to buy Gold, which hovers near $3,350 at the time of writing. Market participants had begun to price in an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve (Fed), following July's jobs data. Although the Unemployment Rate was nearly unchanged, cracks in the labor market vindicated Fed Governors Michelle Bowman and...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) remains under pressure against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday, giving back most of its earlier gains despite broad weakness in the Greenback following a disappointing Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data. The AUD/USD initially surged nearly 70 pips after US jobs data surprised to the downside, but the momentum quickly faded as markets shifted focus to rising expectations of an interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) at its upcoming meeting on August 12. The dovish outlook is keeping the Aussie pinned near multi-week lows. At the time of writing, the...
Silver (XAG/USD) reverses early losses on Friday and climbs back above the $36.50 mark, buoyed by a broad-based sell-off in the US Dollar (USD) after the latest Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report surprised to the downside. The July Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report delivered a significant downside surprise. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the US economy added just 73,000 jobs, well below the 110,000 expected. Adding to the dovish tone, June's payrolls were revised sharply lower to 14,000 from a previously reported 147,000. The Unemployment Rate ticked higher to 4.2%, in line with...
Spot gold prices rose more than 1%, surpassing $3,340 an ounce on Friday (August 1), as the latest U.S. jobs report reinforced evidence of a cooling labor market and strengthened expectations of a Fed rate cut in September. The U.S. economy added only 73,000 jobs in July, short of the 100,000 projected by analysts, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2%, up from 4.1% in June. In response, the market now rates a 75% probability of a September rate cut, up sharply from 45% before the report. The data follows higher-than-expected PCE inflation figures released on Thursday, which...
Oil prices were little changed on Friday (August 1st) and headed for weekly gains as investors weighed the impact of further import tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump and the threat of sanctions. Brent crude futures fell 26 cents, or 0.36%, to $71.44 a barrel at 12:12 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 18 cents, or 0.26%, to $69.08. Crude oil prices stabilized on Friday after falling more than 1% in the previous session, although Brent and WTI remained on track for weekly gains of 4.4% and 6%, respectively. Investors have been focused on the potential impact of US...