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...
Oil prices plunged nearly 8% on Friday to their lowest levels since 2021, while copper, soybeans and other commodities also fell as China retaliated against U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive tariffs. Safe-haven gold prices fell for a second day, dragged down by a broader market selloff as major equity indexes plunged and recession fears mounted. Beijing proposed additional levies of 34% on all U.S. goods, retaliating after Trump announced a minimum 10% tariff on most U.S. imports, with much higher duties for dozens of countries including China. "This is the first very explicit...
Gold fell more than 3% on Friday, erasing gains from earlier in the week, as investors sold bullion to cover losses from a broader market rout as escalating trade tensions stoked fears of a global recession. Spot gold fell 2.9% to $3,024.2 an ounce, after hitting a session low of $3,015.29 earlier in the session. It hit a record high of $3,167.57 on Thursday. For the week, gold is down 1.9%. U.S. gold futures settled 2.8% lower at $3,035.40. On the technical front, spot gold managed to hold above its 21-day moving average of $3,023. "We tend to view gold as a liquid asset that is used to...
Gold prices plunged nearly 2% on Friday as traders liquidated their bullion positions amid a broad market sell-off, after China retaliated with new tariffs against U.S. President Trump's massive levies. Spot gold fell 1.9% to $3,053.98 an ounce by 10:05 a.m. EDT (1405 GMT). It hit a record high of $3,167.57 on Thursday. U.S. gold futures fell 1.6% to $3,072.10. Investors sold some of their gold holdings to cover losses in other asset classes, driven by margin calls, analysts said. "We still see room for further upside risk, given the current risk-off environment... we expect prices to...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar (USD) against six major currencies, rallied after some strong Nonfarm Payrolls numbers while markets look ahead for Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell's speech up next. China meanwhile lashed out at the US tariffs by imposing a 34% tariff on all US goods from April 10th, a day after the US tariffs will be imposed. Question will be if other countries join China in retaliation while the 'deal-making' US President Donald Trump was referring to on Thursday, does not seem to be taking place right now. On the...
Oil prices plunged by 8% on Friday, heading for their lowest close since the middle of the pandemic in 2021, as China hit back in an escalating global trade war with the U.S. after President Donald Trump's barrage of levies this week. China announced it will impose additional tariffs of 34% on all U.S. goods from April 10. Nations around the world have readied retaliation after Trump raised tariff barriers to their highest in more than a century, leading to a plunge in world financial markets. Brent futures dived $4.70, or 6.7%, to $65.44 a barrel by 1314 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate...