
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...
USD/CHF consolidated on Wednesday, recording a daily close with a gain of over 0.21%. The currency pair declined from around 0.8847 to 0.8038, an eleven-day yearly low. However, the currency pair has recovered after the Swiss Consumer Price Index (CPI) data continued to weaken, paving the way for another interest rate cut by the Swiss National Bank (SNB). At the time of writing, USD/CHF was trading above 0.8230 after bouncing off a daily/weekly low of 0.8184. USD/CHF Price Forecast: Technical outlook USD/CHF has been trading sideways for the past nine days, in a range of 0.8200-0.8335, as...
Gold rose in early Asian trade after the Fed warned of economic uncertainty due to tariffs. The precious metal tends to perform well during periods of economic uncertainty. However, price gains may be capped by expectations of a meeting between U.S. and Chinese officials in Switzerland on Thursday. BofA Global Research's supply/demand model suggests gold could comfortably trade above $3,000/oz, but not above $3,500/oz for now, especially if the trade dispute eases, the Global Commodity Research team said in a note. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $3,373.34/oz. (Newsmaker23) Source: Dow Jones Newswires
Oil continued to fall ahead of trade talks between the US and China, with comments from President Donald Trump highlighting the difficult path officials face to reach a possible deal. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were trading near $58 a barrel after falling 1.7% in the previous session. Brent crude futures settled above $61. Trump said Wednesday he was not willing to roll back tariffs on China first to jump-start planned negotiations. The officials are set to meet in Switzerland this week for talks. Crude prices have been on a tear recently on concerns about the potential hit to...
Gold prices fell more than 1% on Wednesday, pressured by a firmer dollar and U.S.-China trade talks optimism, while the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. Spot gold slipped 1.1% to $3,390.26 an ounce. U.S. gold futures lost 0.7% to $3,399.1. The U.S. dollar gained 0.2% against other fiat currencies. A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for other currency holders. The Fed held interest rates steady on Wednesday afternoon. The U.S. central bank stuck to comments it had made in the past that it was in no hurry to cut rates, but indicated in a post-meeting statement that it...
Oil prices fell by more than $1 a barrel on Wednesday as investors doubted that upcoming U.S.-China trade talks will result in a breakthrough, while hopes for an Iran-U.S. nuclear deal eased supply worries. Brent crude futures settled $1.03, or 1.66%, lower at $61.12 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost $1.02, or 1.73%, lower at $58.07 a barrel. The U.S. and China are due to meet in Switzerland, which could be the first step toward resolving a trade war disrupting the global economy. The trade talks between the world's two largest economies come after weeks of escalating...