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...
Silver weakened from its record high, with technical indicators suggesting a six-day rally pushing the precious metal into overbought territory. Gold also weakened. The white metal slumped as much as 2.4% before paring some losses in US trading. Traders had been betting on continued tight supply and expectations of another US interest rate cut – a boost for the non-yielding precious metal. Looking at the 14-day relative strength index, a measure of overbought conditions, silver surged above 70, a level often considered an indication of overheated momentum. Silver is experiencing a...
Oil prices fluctuated amid volatile trading as escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine raised the possibility of further supply disruptions. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices started the day down 1.75%, trading near $58 per barrel. Prices briefly turned positive after Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened potential retaliatory action against ships from countries that aided Ukraine in Moscow's war, according to Interfax. "Today's news releases should be highly sensitive to headlines, and the path of least resistance still looks lower," said Rebecca Babin, senior...
The dollar strengthened slightly in early December trading, a historically difficult period for the US currency. G-10 currencies traded in tight ranges with little US data available and Federal Reserve officials in a quiet period ahead of next week's meeting. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1% in New York trading, after posting a slight gain on Monday. "There is little room for the USD to extend this rebound at this point," given "Fed policy expectations/focus on a possible leadership change/seasonal trends," wrote Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at Scotiabank, on...
Oil prices held firm on Tuesday as traders weighed up risks from Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian energy sites and mounting U.S.-Venezuela tension. Brent crude futures fell 19 cents, or 0.3%, to $62.98 a barrel by 0903 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 12 cents, or 0.2%, to stand at $20 a barrel. Both benchmarks advanced more than 1% on Monday, while WTI was near a two-week high. While prompt prices seemed rangebound, the geopolitical risk premium seems to have built again due to the situations around the Black Sea and Venezuela, said Ole Hansen, head of commodity...
Gold (XAU/USD) remains depressed through the early European session on Monday, though it manages to defend the $4,200 mark amid mixed fundamental cues. A generally positive tone around the equity markets undermines demand for traditional safe-haven assets and drags the precious metal away from its highest level since October 20, touched on Monday. However, dovish US Federal Reserve (Fed) expectations act as a tailwind for the non-yielding yellow metal and help limit further losses. Investors now seem convinced that the US central bank will lower borrowing costs again at its upcoming policy...