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 eased after a three-day gain, before pivotal US jobs data due later Thursday that may shape the outlook for the Federal Reserve's monetary easing path. Bullion traded near $3,345 an ounce after gaining more than 2% earlier this week, as markets shifted focus to the incoming payrolls report that's forecast to show 106,000 jobs were added to the economy in June, which would mark the fewest in four months. Separate data from ADP Research on Wednesday showed employment at US companies fell for the first time in over two years, prompting traders to boost bets on at least two rate cuts...
Oil steadied after its biggest gain in almost two weeks, as a US trade deal with Vietnam boosted optimism further agreements will be made by next week's cutoff. West Texas Intermediate traded above $67 a barrel after surging more than 3% on Wednesday, with Brent crude closing near $69. The deal with Vietnam would be just the third announced following agreements with the UK and China, as trading partners race to cut agreements with the US ahead of a July 9 deadline. Crude has been buffeted in recent weeks, surging and collapsing along with perceived geopolitical risk in the...
The euro (EUR) posted a minimal loss of 0.08% against the US dollar (USD), trading below the 1.1800 mark on Wednesday. A worse-than-expected US jobs report raised speculation that the Federal Reserve (Fed) could cut interest rates amid growing fears of a recession in the world's largest economy. Currently, the EUR/USD pair is trading at 1.1795, almost unchanged. On Wednesday, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) announced that private payrolls declined in June, marking the first decline in two years. Although the US dollar initially weakened, it recovered slightly, dragging EUR/USD back below...
Oil futures rose more than 2% on Wednesday as Iran suspended cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog and the U.S. and Vietnam reached a trade deal, but a surprise increase in U.S. crude supplies capped gains. Brent crude rose $1.47, or 2.2%, to $68.58 a barrel by 1:12 p.m. EDT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.46, or 2.2%, to $66.91 a barrel. Brent has traded between a high of $69.05 a barrel and a low of $66.34 since June 25, as concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East eased following a cease-fire between Iran and Israel. Iran enacted a law that...
Gold prices edged higher during the North American session as traders braced for the release of the latest Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) figures in the United States (US), which could be crucial for the direction of interest rates set by the Federal Reserve (Fed). At the time of writing, XAU/USD was trading at $3,348, up 0.29%. The latest jobs report, as revealed by ADP, showed that companies are cutting hiring instead of laying off people as they adjust to the current economic environment. News that Microsoft is cutting 9,000 jobs painted a gloomy outlook for the labor market. On Thursday, the...