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 ticked lower in Asian trading on Monday after weekly gains, as oversupply concerns persisted amid U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, while investors assessed Chinese factory data showing resilience despite the effect of U.S. tariffs. Investors were also cautious as the global ratings agency Moody's downgraded its investment grade rating on the U.S. As of 23:23 ET (03:23 GMT), Brent Oil Futures expiring in June inched 0.3% lower to $65.20 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also fell 0.3% to $61.77 per barrel. Both contracts gained more than 1% last week, driven...
Silver price (XAG/USD) extends its losses for the second successive session, trading around $32.30 per troy ounce during the Asian hours on Monday. While silver prices have recently faced downward pressure, the downside may be limited due to rising demand for safe-haven assets, spurred by growing concerns over the US economic outlook and fiscal stability. Moody's has downgraded the US credit rating by one notch from Aaa to Aa1 citing surging debt levels and an increasing burden from interest payments. This follows similar downgrades by Fitch Ratings in 2023 and Standard & Poor's in...
Gold price (XAU/USD) attracts buyers during the Asian session on Monday as a surprise downgrade of the US government's credit rating tempers investors' appetite for riskier assets and boosts demand for traditional safe-haven assets. Furthermore, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's reaffirmation of President Donald Trump's tariff threats lends additional support to the bullion. Meanwhile, bets that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates further this year keep the US Dollar (USD) depressed and turn out to be another factor lending some support to the non-yielding yellow...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) US Crude Oil prices struggle to capitalize on Friday's move higher and attract fresh sellers at the start of a new week. The commodity, however, recovers slightly from the Asian session low and currently trades around the $61.70-$61.65 region, still down nearly 0.40% for the day. The uncertainty over the outcome of Iran-US nuclear talks and rising tensions between Estonia and Russia, following the latter's detention of a Greek-owned oil tanker on Sunday, turned out to be key factors acting as a tailwind for the black liquid. In fact, US special envoy Steve...
The Japanese yen strengthened past 145 per dollar on Monday, marking its fifth consecutive session of gains, as the US dollar weakened following Moody's credit rating downgrade. On Friday, the agency lowered the US credit rating from Aaa to Aa1, citing a worsening fiscal outlook and "a lack of effective policy action" to address mounting deficits. Domestically, recent data showed that Japan's economy contracted in the first quarter of 2025, with GDP falling worse than market expectations and marking its first economic contraction in a year. Investors are now turning their attention to the...