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...
Oil prices were steady on Monday despite Moody's downgrading the US sovereign credit rating and official data showing a slowdown in growth in industrial production and retail sales in China. The developments have raised concerns about the outlook for the world's two largest economies and expectations that demand for oil could slow, after Beijing and Washington agreed to lift most tariffs on each other's goods, boosting prices. "The weaker-than-expected Chinese data did not help crude, although I would describe the setback as modest," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. Brent crude futures...
The USD/CHF pair trades 0.5% lower to near 0.8330 during North American trading hours on Monday. The Swiss Franc pair weakens as the US Dollar (USD) faces a sharp selling pressure due to erosion in the United States (US) Sovereign Credit Rating. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback's value against six major currencies, slumps to near 100.30. On Friday, Moody's Rating downgraded the US long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings from Aaa to Aa1. The one-notch downgrade in the US credit came on the back of a growing $36 trillion debt pile. The US downgrade has sparked...
Oil inched lower on Monday, weighed down by Moody's downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating and official data that showed slowing growth in China's industrial output and retail sales. Both developments raised concerns over the outlook for the world's two biggest economies and oil consumers a week after Beijing and Washington's agreement to roll back most tariffs on each other's goods pushed oil prices higher. "The weaker than expected Chinese data is not helping crude oil, although I would describe the setback as modest," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. Brent crude futures lost...
Gold (XAU/USD) price pops over 1% on Monday and hits $3,243 at the time of writing, with three main themes at play on Monday. Tensions are brewing in the Middle East with Israel embarking on another massive ground offensive. The military action comes just days after United States (US) President Donald Trump visited the Middle East, though he didn't visit Israel. The second main driver is the bond market, where several pension funds and Fixed Income (Bonds) investors will need to reshuffle their holdings after rating agency Moody's downgraded the US's sovereign debt credit rating after the...
The dollar index fell by about 0.7% to 100.1 on Monday, retreating further from the one-month highs reached last week, as growing concerns over the US fiscal outlook triggered a shift away from dollar-denominated assets. On Friday, Moody's downgraded the US credit rating from Aaa to Aa1, citing rising government debt and a widening budget deficit. Fiscal concerns were further exacerbated by the approval of President Trump's tax-cut legislation by a key congressional committee on Sunday. The bill includes hundreds of billions of dollars in new tax cuts without corresponding spending...