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 Australian Dollar (AUD) gains ground against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday, extending its gains for the second successive day. The AUD/USD pair maintains its position following the release of the preliminary S&P Global Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data. Australia's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index came in at 51.7 in May versus 51.7 prior. Meanwhile, Services PMI declines to 50.5 in May from the previous reading of 51.0, while the Composite PMI eases to 50.6 in May versus 51.0 prior. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) reduced its Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis...
Silver price (XAG/USD) rises to near $32.60 per troy ounce during the Asian trading hours on Thursday, gaining ground for the third successive session. Precious metals, including Silver, attract buyers amid rising safe-haven demand over growing fiscal concerns in the United States (US). Moody's downgraded the US credit rating from Aaa to Aa1, following similar downgrades by Fitch Ratings in 2023 and Standard & Poor's in 2011. Moody's also predicted that US federal debt is expected to climb to around 134% of GDP by 2035, up from 98% in 2023, with the budget deficit expected to widen to...
Gold price (XAU/USD) prolongs the uptrend for the fourth consecutive day and climbs to a nearly two-week high, around the $3,344-3,345 area during the Asian session on Thursday. Investors remain on edge following the US sovereign credit rating downgrade by Moody's and growing worries about rising US deficit on the back of US President Donald Trump's sweeping tax bill. Moreover, renewed US-China trade tensions, along with geopolitical risks, hit the global risk sentiment and continue to benefit the safe-haven precious metal. Meanwhile, a poor response to the 20-year US bond auction...
Oil prices extended losses in Asian trading on Thursday after data showed a surprise build in U.S. crude stockpiles, while uncertainty ahead of renewed U.S.-Iran nuclear talks next week further fueled oversupply worries. In the previous session, oil closed lower after volatile moves, as it initially jumped over 1.5% on a CNN report stating Israel may potentially strike Iran's nuclear sites. As of 20:48 ET (01:55 GMT), Brent Oil Futures expiring in July fell 0.5% to $64.61 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 0.4% to $61.30 per barrel. US-Iran talks to...
The Japanese yen strengthened toward 143 per dollar on Thursday, reaching its highest level in over two weeks, as mounting concerns over the US fiscal outlook weighed on the greenback. The yen's rally was fueled by expectations that President Donald Trump's proposed tax cuts projected to add more than $3 trillion to US debt could destabilize financial markets and undermine confidence in US assets. On the diplomatic front, Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said he did not discuss exchange rate levels with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during the G7 meetings in Canada...