The Hang Seng Index fell 54 points, or 0.2%, to close at 25,123 on Tuesday (August 19), marking its fourth session of declines and its lowest close in nearly three weeks. Investors remained cautious ahead of the PBoC's monthly benchmark lending rate review due on Wednesday. Weakening US index futures also added to risk-off sentiment ahead of the Jackson Hole meeting later this week. Meanwhile, the latest data showed China's youth unemployment rate jumped to 17.8% in July from 14.5% in June, the highest since August 2024. The broader unemployment rate also rose to a four-month high of...
The US dollar index slipped to around 103 on Tuesday, trimming recent gains as persistent trade uncertainties weighed on the broader economic and inflation outlook. President Donald Trump denied rumors of a potential pause in his sweeping tariff measures but expressed a willingness to enter negotiations with trade partners. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added that nearly 70 countries have reached out to the White House seeking tariff talks. However, tensions escalated as Trump threatened China with an additional 50% tariff if Beijing fails to remove its levies on US imports. In response,...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) US Crude Oil prices attract some buyers on Tuesday following the previous day's US tariffs-led volatile price swings and currently trade just below mid-$61.00s, up over 1% for the day. The US Dollar (USD) attracts fresh sellers and stalls a two-day-old recovery from a multi-month low amid bets that a tariffs-driven US economic slowdown might force the Federal Reserve (Fed) to resume its rate-cutting cycle soon. This, in turn, is seen benefiting USD-denominated commodities and lending some support to Crude Oil prices. Apart from this, the uptick could be...
USD/CHF started Tuesday's Asian session (08/4) slightly lower, after a wild trading day on Monday, which saw it swing in the range of 0.8450–0.8673, and ended almost unchanged. At the time of writing, the major was trading at 0.8588, down 0.02%. The currency pair was trading near 0.8588 amid mixed sentiment, with investors eyeing US CPI as the next catalyst for direction The market mood was mixed, with one of the three US indices posting a positive day, while the Volatility Index (VIX) ended at 46.98, its highest level since March 2020. Tariffs continued to be the main driver, stoking...
Oil prices plunged 2% to a 4-year low on Monday on concerns that U.S. President Donald Trump's latest trade tariffs could push economies around the world into recession and dent global demand for energy. Brent crude futures fell $1.37, or 2.1%, to settle at $64.21 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $1.29, or 2.1%, to settle at $60.70. That pushed both crude benchmarks, which fell about 11% last week, to their lowest closes since April 2021. The trading session was marked by extreme volatility, with prices dropping more than $3 a barrel intraday overnight and...
Gold prices fell more than 2% on Monday, with investors turning to the dollar as a safe haven after broad U.S. tariffs raised fears of a global recession. However, analysts remained bullish on bullion given the challenging economic environment. Spot gold prices fell 2.4% to $2,963.19 an ounce by 1:36 p.m. ET (1736 GMT), after hitting a near four-week low of $2,955.89 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures settled 2% lower at $2,973.60. "Gold prices fell as investors turned to cash and other safe havens such as the Swiss franc and Japanese yen amid market turmoil, which creates the risk...