Japanese stocks experienced a sharp decline on Wednesday, led by chip and electronics stocks, which were pressured by weakness in US technology stocks overnight. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.9% to 50,523.00. Stocks such as Kioxia Holdings fell 11%, SoftBank Group fell 9.1%, and Advantest plunged 8.1%. This decline reflects uncertainty in the Japanese market regarding the global technology sector. The Japanese yen also weakened slightly against the US dollar, with USD/JPY trading at 153.62, slightly higher than 153.55 at the Tokyo market close the previous day. Investors are now focused...
Gold is trading steadily in early Asian trade. Prices remain supported as investors continue to turn to the safe-haven asset as a hedge against uncertainty, given the continued global trade tensions, says Bas Kooijman, CEO and asset manager of DHF Capital S.A. in a note. However, if trade developments lead to inflationary pressures, it could prompt the Fed to remain cautious and hold rates for longer, which could limit gold's rally, Kooijman says. Geopolitical risks around the Russia-Ukraine conflict could fuel risk-off sentiment and sustain gold's upward price trend in the short term,...
GBP/USD hit the gas pedal and pumped out another strong session on Wednesday, lurching higher by another 0.85% and notching in a third straight session of firmly bullish gains. Pound markets are firmly recovering after weeks of uneasy risk appetite, pushing GBP/USD to 16-week highs. Despite warnings that the UK economy is overall weakening, Cable markets rallied following Wednesday's Monetary Policy Hearings from the Bank of England (BoE). According to BoE Governor Andrew Bailey, A modest uptick in inflation is expected despite weaker growth figures, causing markets to readjust their...
EUR/USD surged on Wednesday, climbing 1.75% and knocking on the 1.0800 handle as risk sentiment rises following yet another pivot from US President Donald Trump on his own tariff strategy. President Trump is once again pumping the brakes on his own trade strategy of threatening to impose stiff import taxes on his own citizens in order to punish other countries for a litany of Donald Trump's perceived slights. The European Central Bank (ECB) is set to trim interest rates by another 25 bps on Thursday, taking the Main Refinancing Operations Rate down to 2.65% and dropping its Rate on Deposit...
Oil held near the lowest level in six months as President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs opened up trade wars on multiple fronts, raising concerns about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate traded near $66 a barrel after losing more than 5% over the past four sessions. Brent closed below $70 on Wednesday. Trump is delaying some levies on automakers and considering exemptions for certain agriculture products, but still moving forward with reciprocal tariffs on April 2. Oil has tumbled by almost a fifth since mid-January as Trump's trade policies...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) strengthened on Wednesday, with the AUD/USD pair gaining traction after the United States (US) reported mixed ISM Services PMI and softer ADP Employment Change figures. The US Dollar (USD) remains under pressure amid concerns over slowing economic momentum, keeping the Aussie buoyed.Post-ISM, ADP data shape currency flows amid tariff warningsRenewed US tariffs on Chinese imports add more strain to global risk sentiment. The 10% levy from President Donald Trump compounds earlier duties and the potential for Chinese retaliation remains high, particularly concerning...