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...
EUR/USD is kicking off the week on a weaker note, trading near 1.1320 during the Asian session on Monday. US President Donald Trump confirmed he would not seek to remove Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell before his term ends in May 2026. While Trump criticized Powell, calling him "a total stiff," he reiterated that interest rates should eventually be lowered. Additionally, the EUR/USD pair faces headwinds possibly from potential trade tensions. Trump announced plans to direct the US Trade Representative and Commerce Department to begin the process of imposing a 100% tariff on...
The dollar was struggling to hold its ground on Monday even as concerns about a U.S. recession eased just a little, while investors awaited actual evidence of a thaw in Sino-U.S. trade relations, as opposed to just hints from officials. The solid March payrolls report had offered the dollar support by lengthening the odds on a Federal Reserve rate cut in June, and making it more likely the central bank will lean hawkish at its policy meeting this week. "The labor report leaves little doubt that the FOMC will keep rates on hold this week, and the bar for cutting is now even higher for...
WTI crude oil futures fell more than 3% to around $56.2 per barrel on Monday as OPEC+ agreed to ramp up production, fueling fears about a global supply glut. OPEC+ will accelerate oil output hikes for a second consecutive month, raising output in June by 411,000 bpd. This could bring back as much as 2.2 million bpd to the market by November as the group's leader Saudi Arabia seeks to punish some fellow members that have exceeded their quotas. These supply concerns overshadowed earlier news about China weighing talks with the U.S. that could ease trade tensions between the two economic...
The Gold price (XAU/USD) trades in positive territory near $3,245 during the early Asian session on Monday. The renewed concerns over the US recession and US-China trade relations provide some support to safe-haven assets like Gold. The US ISM Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for April will be in the spotlight later on Monday. While the Chinese Commerce Ministry indicated Beijing was considering an offer from the US to hold talks over US President Donald Trump's 145% tariffs, the two sides still seem far apart. Trump avoided answering the question if there will be trade deals this...
Gold edges higher in early Asian session amid losses in U.S. stock-index futures. The precious metal's direction is likely to be determined by equities' direction and risk appetite, says Fawad Razaqzada, a market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com, in an email. Gold, which has been on the defensive since topping out around $3,500/oz recently, is trying to find its footing once again, the analyst says, adding there seems to be some short-covering occurring. Spot gold is 0.2% higher at $3,247.66/oz.(Newsmaker23) Source : Dow Jones Newswires