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...
Gold rose to a new high as U.S. President Donald Trump ordered an investigation that could open a new front in the global trade war, triggering a pullback from equities and a move into safe-haven assets. Bullion rose as much as 1.89% on Wednesday to rise above $3,291 an ounce for the first time, surpassing its previous all-time peak set on Monday. Traders were again caught off guard by a series of tariff headlines, with Trump launching an investigation into the need for levies on critical minerals. The precious metal has risen more than 20% this year and hit a series of record highs as the...
The USD/CHF pair attracted fresh sellers during the Asian session on Wednesday and eroded a major part of the previous day's modest recovery move. The spot prices fell back to mid-0.8100s in the last hour and remained within striking distance of a ten-year low touched last Friday amid a broadly weaker US Dollar (USD). In fact, the USD Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, languished near its lowest level since April 2022 amid weakening confidence in the US economy. Further, bets that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will soon resume its interest rate-cutting cycle...
EUR/USD traded around 1.1340 during Asian hours on Wednesday (4/16), recovering from two consecutive sessions of declines. The pair found support from a more positive global risk sentiment, supported by US President Donald Trump's decision to exempt major technology products from his newly announced "reciprocal" tariffs. However, further upside for the Euro (EUR) may be limited as markets widely expect the European Central Bank (ECB) to cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Thursday. The move comes amid growing recession fears linked to US trade policy. The ECB has already cut interest...
Gold prices hit an all-time high on Wednesday as a weaker dollar, rising trade tensions and concerns over global economic growth boosted demand for safe-haven bullion. Spot gold rose 1.3% to $3,270.12 an ounce, as of 0319 GMT. It peaked at $3,275.20 an ounce earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures rose 1.4% to $3,286.30. "A combination of factors such as a weaker dollar and continued risk aversion are working in gold's favor," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade. The dollar index (.DXY), opens a new tab , fell 0.4% against its rivals, making gold more attractive to...
Silver (XAG/USD) prices moved higher after a recent decline, trading around $32.30 per troy ounce during the Asian session on Wednesday (4/16). The rise came as lingering uncertainty over US trade policy continued to fuel safe-haven demand for the precious metal. A weaker US Dollar (USD) also supported Silver prices, making the dollar-denominated asset more attractive to foreign buyers. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the Greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was trading lower near 99.80 at the time of writing. Market attention now turns to the upcoming US Retail...