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 prices climbed on Tuesday to their highest level in more than a month, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar and lower Treasury yields, as investors looked for progress in trade talks ahead of an August 1 deadline. Spot gold was little changed at $3,389.98 per ounce, as of 0503 GMT. Earlier in the session, bullion hit its highest level since June 17. U.S. gold futures held their ground at $3,402.90. "Gold's move on the upside has been pretty much supported by positive technicals and as well as reinforced by a broad base of dollar weakness," OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong...
Oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday morning as concerns about a trade war between the United States and the European Union resurfaced, fueling fears of a decline in fuel demand. These tensions weighed on market sentiment, fearing they would hamper global economic activity. Brent crude fell 0.75% to $68.69 per barrel, while US WTI fell 0.76% to $66.69 per barrel. The August WTI contract expires today, while the more active September contract fell 0.82% to $65.41. Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova, said that demand concerns continue to mount as the market awaits a...
The EUR/USD pair clings to gains made on Monday around 1.1700 during the Asian trading session on Tuesday. The major currency pair strengthens as the US Dollar (USD) corrects sharply, following a fresh escalation in trade tensions between the United States (US) and the European Union (EU). The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback's value against six major currencies, trades flat around 97.88 on Tuesday. The DXY has corrected from its almost a month high of 99.00 in the last two trading days. Trade tensions between giant economies escalated after a report from the Wall Street...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the US Dollar (USD) against six major currencies, is holding ground after losing more than 0.50% in the previous session and trading at around 97.90 during the Asian hours on Tuesday. Market caution deepened amid rising uncertainty over impending tariffs and increasing worries about the Federal Reserve's (Fed) independence. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated unequivocally in a televised interview, "That's a hard deadline, so on August 1, the new tariff rates will come in. Nothing stops countries from talking to us after August...
Gold prices edged down to around $3,380 on Tuesday but remained close to a five-week high reached in the previous session, amid lingering uncertainty ahead of President Donald Trump's August 1 tariff deadline. Attention is now on the EU-US trade negotiations this week, as they seek to clinch a trade deal before the deadline, when Trump has threatened to hit most of the bloc's exports with 30% tariffs. Meanwhile, the bloc is preparing a broader set of possible countermeasures against the US in a scenario where there is no agreement. On the monetary policy front, the European Central Bank is...