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...
Most Asian currencies rose on Thursday, led by gains in the South Korean won and the Japanese yen as the U.S. dollar weakened after President Donald Trump took a softer stance while affirming progress in U.S.-China trade negotiations. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, slid 0.3% in Asia hours, reaching its lowest level in over six weeks. The moves were also affected by expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year after a benign consumer inflation print. US Dollar Index Futures were also trading 0.3% lower. Investors...
Gold prices rose on Thursday, bolstered by rising tensions in the Middle East and a weaker dollar, while softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data boosted expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts. Spot gold was up 0.6% at $3,373.09 an ounce, as of 0552 GMT. U.S. gold futures gained 1.5% to $3,393.80. The U.S. dollar index (.DXY), opens new tab fell to a near two-month low, making greenback-priced bullion more attractive to overseas buyers. The weakness in the dollar index serves as a strong catalyst, said Kelvin Wong, a senior market analyst, Asia Pacific at OANDA, adding that a "bullish...
Oil prices eased on Thursday, reversing gains made earlier in the Asian trading session, as market participants assessed a U.S. decision to move personnel from the Middle East ahead of talks with Iran over the latter's nuclear-related activity. Brent crude futures were down 30 cents, or 0.4%, to $69.47 a barrel at 0433 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was 23 cents lower, or 0.3%, at $67.92 a barrel. A day earlier, both Brent and WTI surged more than 4% to their highest since early April. U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. was moving personnel because the Middle East...
The Australian dollar depreciated past $0.649 on Thursday, extending its decline from the previous session as risk sentiment soured amid fresh tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. On Wednesday, he announced plans to dispatch official letters to major trading partners within the next one to two weeks, outlining unilateral tariffs aimed at compelling countries to negotiate trade deals. Adding pressure on the Aussie dollar were rising expectations of further interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of Australia. Markets price in an 80% chance of a 25 bps cut to 3.60% at the July 8...
Gold prices rose on Thursday, bolstered by rising tensions in the Middle East and a weaker dollar, while softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data boosted expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts. Spot gold was up 0.6% at $3,372.46 an ounce, as of 0202 GMT. U.S. gold futures gained 1.5% to $3,393. The U.S. dollar index (.DXY), opens new tab fell to a near two-month low, making greenback-priced bullion more attractive to overseas buyers. The weakness in the dollar index serves as a strong catalyst, said Kelvin Wong, a senior market analyst, Asia Pacific at OANDA, adding that gold faced...