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...
Silver prices were near the $32.4 per ounce on Tuesday, trading with marginal gains for a second session and remaining around 12% higher year-to-date gain amid higher demand for silver as bullion and its industrial uses. Precious metals remained supported by the outlook of lower interest rates by major central banks, which reduce the opportunity cost of holding assets without any yield. Softer inflation prints maintained bets of two rate cuts by the Fed this year, while the BoE cut its benchmark rate and the PBoC reduced the rate on liquidity operations. In the meantime, higher...
Oil prices slipped on Tuesday as traders weighed the impact on supply from Russia-Ukraine peace talks and US-Iran negotiations, strong front-month physical demand in Asia and a cautious outlook for China's economy. Brent futures for July dipped 19 cents to $65.35 a barrel by 0625 GMT. June U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures, which expire on Tuesday, gained 3 cents to $62.72, while the more active July contract slipped 17 cents to $61.97 a barrel. Discussions on Iran's nuclear programme would "lead nowhere" if Washington insisted that Tehran slash uranium enrichment activity...
Gold prices eased on Tuesday, as a slightly firmer dollar and optimism over a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine dampened demand for safe-haven assets. Spot gold was down 0.5% at $3,214.17 an ounce as of 0627 GMT. U.S. gold futures slipped 0.6% to $3,215.60. The dollar slightly recovered after touching a more-than-one-week low in the prior session, making greenback-priced gold less appealing to holders of other currencies. "We are seeing a knee-jerk response to the U.S. credit downgrade wear off and there's some hope of a truce between Ukraine and Russia," said Kyle Rodda,...
The dollar index fell to 100.1 on Tuesday, marking a near two-week low and extending a 0.7% decline from the previous session, as renewed concerns over the US economic and fiscal outlook weighed on sentiment. Traders also remained focused on potential developments in global trade negotiations. Over the weekend, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reaffirmed that President Trump intends to impose tariffs at the rates threatened last month, on trading partners that fail to engage in "good faith" negotiations. Adding to fiscal anxiety, Moody's downgraded the US rating from Aaa to Aa1 on Friday,...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback against a basket of currencies, oscillates in a range around the 100.35 area through the Asian session on Tuesday and remains close to over a one-week low touched the previous day. Moreover, the lack of any buying interest and a bearish fundamental backdrop suggests that the path of least resistance for the index remains to the downside. Traders increased their bets for further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed) in 2025 following last week's softer-than-expected release of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer...