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 price retreats on Thursday during the North American session, failing to gain traction amid a session characterized by a weak US Dollar, which is testing levels last seen in February 2022. The XAU/USD trades at $3,331 and prints modest losses of 0.05%. The yellow metal is struggling to rally despite the Greenback being near three-and-a-half-year lows and US Treasury yields plunging. Solid economic data in the United States (US) kept bullion from advancing, even though market participants got slightly ahead of themselves, pricing in two rate cuts toward the end of 2025. US jobs data...
Oil prices edged higher on Thursday with investors focused on market fundamentals as crude and fuel inventories fell in the U.S. and the dollar sank to a multi-year low, while the market remained cautious about the Iran-Israel ceasefire. Brent crude futures were up 32 cents, or 0.47%, to $68 a barrel at 2:01 p.m. EDT (1801 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 55 cents, or 0.85%, to $65.47 a barrel. Both benchmarks climbed nearly 1% on Wednesday, recovering from losses earlier in the week after data showed resilient U.S. demand. Brent futures were trading below their close of...
Gold is retreating on Thursday despite persistent US Dollar (USD) weakness as traders continue to favour risk assets. With XAU/USD trading near $3,330 in the American session at the time of writing, the yellow metal continues to display signs of resiliency despite a minor pullback. The risk-on tone being adopted by global markets has continued to ripple through markets as US equity indices continue their ascent to fresh, record highs. This has limited Gold's ability to extend gains, despite a weaker Greenback. With the timing of Fed rate cuts still in question, recent data and US...
The dollar sank to a three-year low while world stocks notched their second record high in three days as a report that Donald Trump was planning to choose the next Federal Reserve chief early fuelled fresh bets on U.S. rate cuts. Dollar selling was ongoing as U.S. trading picked up pace after the Wall Street Journal said the U.S. president - who has been urging the Fed to cut rates faster - was toying with the idea of selecting Chair Jerome Powell's replacement in the next few months ahead of his formal departure next May. It left the greenback (.DXY), opens new tab down nearly 0.5% on...
Gold is regaining confidence on Thursday as the poor performance of the US Dollar (USD) becomes the dominant driver of price action. With XAU/USD trading near $3,340 in the European session at the time of writing, the yellow metal continues to display signs of resiliency. Despite a risk-on tone being adopted by global markets, declines in the Gold price have been limited. This is largely attributed to a decrease in confidence in the Greenback, which has come under scrutiny in recent months. Investors' focus has now shifted to the timing of when the Fed will begin to cut interest rates,...