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...
The USD/CHF pair rebounds a few pips from a fresh weekly low touched during the Asian session on Thursday and for now, seems to have stalled this week's slide from the vicinity of the 0.8000 psychological mark. Spot prices, however, lack bullish conviction and currently trade around the 0.7940 region, unchanged for the day amid mixed cues. Asian stocks tracked the overnight move up in the US equity markets, which, in turn, undermines demand for the safe-haven Swiss Franc (CHF). The US Dollar (USD), on the other hand, draws some support from diminishing odds for a rate cut by the Federal...
EUR/USD appreciates after registering mild losses in the previous session, trading around 1.1730 during the Asian hours on Thursday. The pair appreciates as the US Dollar (USD) loses ground following the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Meeting Minutes and developments on US tariffs. FOMC Minutes from the June 17–18 meeting, released on Wednesday, indicated most Federal Reserve (Fed) officials considered a reduction in the fed funds rate likely to be appropriate at some point this year, noting that upward pressure on inflation from tariffs may be temporary or modest. Meanwhile,...
The GBP/USD pair gains ground around 1.3605 during the Asian trading hours on Thursday. The Greenback softens against the Pound Sterling amid the prospects for more interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed) this year. Traders await the US weekly Initial Jobless Claims data later on Thursday. Also, the Federal Reserve (Fed) officials are scheduled to speak, including Alberto Musalem, Christopher Waller and Mary Daly. US President Donald Trump on Monday warned trading partners of sharply higher US tariffs from August 1, after he delayed all but 10% of his April levies on most countries...
Oil prices eased on Thursday as the latest tariff announcements by U.S. President Donald Trump were perceived by market participants as a threat to global economic growth, however signs of strong U.S. gasoline demand limited losses. Brent crude futures were down 3 cents at $70.16 a barrel by 0401 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 6 cents to $68.32 a barrel. On the demand side, macro uncertainty has led to a more cautious buying environment, particularly in Asia, said analytics firm Kpler in a note, while noting that geopolitical risk premiums have faded with the Israel-Iran...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) is building on the previous day's goodish recovery from over a two-week low and scaling higher for the second consecutive day against a broadly retreating US Dollar (USD). Investors remain on edge amid persistent uncertainties surrounding US President Donald Trump's trade policies, which, in turn, benefit the safe-haven JPY. The USD, on the other hand, is undermined by prospects for more interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed) this year, bolstered by FOMC Minutes on Wednesday. This, in turn, contributes to the USD/JPY pair's intraday slide back below the...