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 edged lower on Thursday as investors weighed the potential impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on global economic growth. Brent crude futures were down 17 cents, or 0.24%, at $70.02 a barrel by 1100 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 24 cents, or 0.35%, to $68.14 a barrel. On Wednesday, Trump threatened Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, with a punitive 50% tariff on exports to the U.S., after a public spat with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He has also announced plans for tariffs on copper, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals...
The US Dollar is featuring a moderate recovery on Thursday, paring some losses after the previous two days' reversal. The pair, however, remains trading near long-term lows, with upside attempts capped below the 0.8000 psychological level. The Greenback extended losses on Wednesday after the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Meeting revealed a deep division among policymakers, with the majority of the MPC showing willingness to reduce borrowing costs in the next months. Traders ramped up expectations of an at least 25 basis point rate cut in September, according to...
Gold (XAU/USD) is ticking up slightly on Thursday, benefiting from escalating global trade tensions as recent tariff announcements from US President Trump have rekindled investors' appetite for bullion as a traditional safe-haven asset. At the time of writing, XAU/USD is trading near $3,325, with persistent tariff threats – the latest targets were Brazil and Copper products – underpinning the Gold price in the short term. Traders look ahead to the next fundamental catalyst, US Jobless Claims data, scheduled for release at 12:30 GMT. This report, published by the US Department of Labor,...
The US Dollar (USD) holds its footing on Thursday after a weak start to the day, as investors digest fresh tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. The Greenback slipped during Asian trading hours and retraced some of this week's gains. It also came under pressure from a sharp drop in Treasury yields, driven by strong demand in Wednesday's 10-year note auction and signals in the June Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Meeting Minutes that interest rates could be lowered later this year. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the Greenback against a basket of six...
The AUD/USD climbs to near 0.6570 during the European trading session on Thursday. The Aussie pair continues to perform strongly from Tuesday when the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) surprisingly kept interest rates steady at 3.85%, citing officials need confidence that inflationary pressures are on the 2.5% path. "The Board judged that it could wait for a little more information to confirm that inflation remains on track to reach 2.5% on a sustainable basis," the board said in a statement, Reuters reported. The unexpected move to hold interest rates steady by the RBA led to a sharp upside...