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 dollar slid on Thursday on further signs that U.S. President Donald Trump may adopt a softer stance in tariff negotiations and heightened expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts. Trump said on Wednesday he would be willing to extend a July 8 deadline for completing trade talks with countries before higher U.S. tariffs are imposed. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested earlier that the Trump administration may offer extensions from a July trade deal deadline for countries negotiating in good faith. The remarks renewed dollar weakness, lifting the euro to a seven-week high....
Oil rises in early Asian trade amid Middle East tensions that could lead to supply disruptions. The U.S. is moving to reduce its presence in parts of Middle East to essential personnel, State Department and Pentagon said Wednesday, as tensions in the region increase. Also, data released overnight by U.S. EIA showed commercial crude-oil stocks excluding Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 3.6 million barrels in the week ended June 6. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 1.6 million-barrel decline in crude stockpiles. Front-month WTI crude oil futures are 0.4% higher...
Gold edges higher in the early Asian session amid geopolitical tensions that typically enhance the safe-haven appeal of the precious metal. The U.S. is moving to scale down its presence in parts of Middle East to essential personnel, State Department and Pentagon said Wednesday, as tensions in the region rise. The tensions come before the sixth round of nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran scheduled this weekend in Oman. Ongoing hostilities in the Middle East continue to weigh on investor confidence, says Bas Kooijman, CEO and Asset Manager of DHF Capital, in an email. Spot gold is 0.2%...
The EUR/USD surged during the North American session but remains shy of clearing the 1.1500 figure, following the release of a softer-than-expected inflation report in the United States (US), which could prompt the Federal Reserve (Fed) to reduce borrowing costs in the near term. At the time of writing, the pair trades at 1.1482, up by over 0.50%. US data revealed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in May fell short of estimates as prices continued to trend lower. Following the data release, US President Donald Trump posted on his social network that the Fed should lower the fed funds rate...
Oil prices rose more than 4% on Wednesday, to their highest in more than two months, after sources said the U.S. was preparing to evacuate its Iraqi embassy due to heightened security concerns in the Middle East. Brent crude futures settled $2.90, or 4.34%, higher to $69.77 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $3.17, or 4.88%, to $68.15. Both Brent and WTI reached their highest since early April. Surprised traders bought crude futures on reports the U.S. was preparing to evacuate its embassy in Iraq, OPEC's No. 2 crude producer after Saudi Arabia. A U.S. official said...