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...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Oil remains under pressure on Thursday, trading near $61.20 during the American session after declining for a second straight day. The commodity briefly fell over 3% earlier in the day before finding near-term support at the $60.00 psychological level. The latest leg down is driven by a combination of bearish supply-side fundamentals and technical rejection near key resistance. Renewed optimism surrounding a potential US-Iran nuclear agreement has revived expectations of increased Iranian oil hitting global markets, should sanctions be eased. This has triggered...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback against a basket of major currencies, is trading just under 101.00 on Thursday after key US economic data releases offered little upside momentum. Retail Sales rose a modest 0.1% in April, while the Producer Price Index softened to 2.4% annually, below expectations. Weekly jobless claims held steady at 229K. Speaking at the Thomas Laubach Research Conference, Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the need to revisit the Fed's strategic language around inflation and employment. The market reaction was muted, with traders...
Oil prices slipped on Thursday on expectations for a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal that could result in sanctions being eased and more barrels released onto the global market. Brent crude futures were down $1.96, or 2.97%, to $64.13 a barrel at 11:17 a.m. EDT (1517 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $1.96, or 3.1%, at $61.19. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the U.S. was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran had "sort of" agreed to the terms. An Iranian official told NBC News in an interview published on Wednesday that Iran...
Gold steadied as investors pulled away from risky assets and waited for more clues on the Federal Reserve's rate path. Bullion traded near $3,180 an ounce, after dipping to the lowest level in more than a month earlier. Gold lost haven support in recent weeks as ebbing trade tensions between the US and China stoked risk-on sentiment, although that is now easing. On Wednesday, signs that there will be fewer Federal Reserve rate cuts than previously anticipated pushed gold to a slump of more than 2%. Traders now await a speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell later...
Silver price (XAG/USD) bounces back to near $32.00 during European trading hours on Thursday after sliding to near the monthly low around $31.65 earlier in the day. The outlook of the Silver price remains bearish as trade relations between the United States (US) and China have improved further. During European trading hours, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled more talks with China to avoid trade tensions. "We are going into a series of negotiations with China to prevent escalation again," Bessent said. Meanwhile, Beijing also appears to be making efforts to improve relations with...