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 Gold price (XAU/USD) attracts some sellers to near $3,335 during the early Asian session on Monday. The de-escalation of the trade war provides some support to the yellow metal. The FOMC Minute will be the highlight later on Wednesday. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said that he agreed to an extension on the tariff deadline on the European Union (EU) until July 9, rescinding his threat of a 50% tariff from June 1. The easing fears of a global trade war drag the precious metal lower. However, traders will closely monitor the developments surrounding US-Japan trade deals and other...
Oil prices rose on Friday as U.S. buyers covered positions ahead of the three-day Memorial Day weekend amid concerns over the latest round of nuclear talks between U.S. and Iranian negotiators. Brent crude futures settled at $64.78 a barrel, up 34 cents, or 0.54%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $61.53, up 33 cents, or 0.54%. "I think there's some short-covering ahead of the weekend," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group. The Memorial Day weekend marks the start of the U.S. summer driving season, the peak demand period for motor fuel. U.S. and Iranian...
Gold prices rose more than 2% on Friday and posted their best week in six, as investors sought safe-haven assets amid new tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump and a weaker dollar. Spot gold rose 2.1% to $3,362.70 an ounce by 1:56 p.m. ET (1756 GMT). Bullion has gained 5.1% this week to hit its highest in more than two weeks. U.S. gold futures settled 2.1% higher at $3,365.8. "Trump has been on a rampage in the past 24 hours. Threatening 50% tariffs on the EU from June 1, attacking Apple and bashing Harvard have put stocks in a sour mood, which is good for gold," said Tai Wong,...
Oil prices rose on Friday as U.S. buyers stocked up ahead of the three-day Memorial Day weekend amid concerns over the latest round of nuclear talks between U.S. and Iranian negotiators. Brent crude futures rose 54 cents, or 0.84%, to settle at $64.98 a barrel by 1600 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 39 cents, or 0.64%, at $61.59. In earlier trading, oil futures had fallen 1% as they headed for their first weekly decline in three weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday recommended a 50% tariff on the European Union and expectations grew that OPEC+ would increase...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the US Dollar (USD) against a basket of six major currencies, fell further on Friday (5/23) and erased the previous day's recovery, trading near 99.20 at the time of writing. The fresh decline came after the House of Representatives passed US President Donald Trump's spending bill, which is now on its way to the Senate. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said that the "big, beautiful bill" comes at a high price: an additional $3.8 trillion in debt to the federal government's $36.2 trillion debt over the next decade, according to Reuters. The...