The Hang Seng index slumped 206 points, or 0.8%, to close at 25,952 on Tuesday, losing early gains as sentiment soured amid a broad sectoral decline. The technology index fell 1.8% after US President Trump said Nvidia would be banned from selling its most advanced AI chips to China, although it would allow some sales to Beijing. Traders largely shrugged off reports that China was raising subsidies, cutting energy bills for major data centers. Consumer and property stocks also weakened, following declines in mainland China as US index futures plunged on uncertainty over the Fed's interest...
GBP/USD depreciates after two consecutive sessions of gains, trading around 1.2660 during Asian hours on Thursday. The pair loses ground as the US Dollar (USD) strengthens amid increased risk aversion and rising US Treasury yields. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic stated late Wednesday that the Fed should maintain current interest rates to continue applying downward pressure on inflation, according to Bloomberg. Bostic noted the need for more data to determine if January's inflation was a temporary bump or the start of a trend. He emphasized that Fed policy remains...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) is ticking lower against its American counterpart during the Asian session on Thursday, though it remains close to the highest level since October 2024 touched earlier this week. Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda's comments last week about potentially increasing regular bond buying led to a further decline in the Japanese government (JGB) bond yields. Apart from this, concerns over US President Donald Trump's tariff plans and a positive risk tone turn out to be key factors undermining the JPY. Any meaningful JPY depreciation, however, still seems elusive in the...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) holds gains against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday. The AUD/USD pair edges higher despite disappointing Australian Private Capital Expenditure data, which unexpectedly contracted by 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in Q4 2024, missing market forecasts of 0.8% growth. This follows an upwardly revised 1.6% expansion in the previous quarter. Reserve Bank of Australia Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser said on Thursday that he expects more positive news on inflation but emphasized the importance of seeing this progress materialize first. He noted that the tightness in Australia's...
Oil prices edged up from two-month lows on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a reversal of a license given to Chevron (NYSE:CVX) to operate in Venezuela, potentially tightening crude supply. Brent crude oil futures rose 19 cents or 0.3% to $72.72 a barrel by 0154 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were up 16 cents or 0.2% at $68.78 per barrel. Both benchmarks on Wednesday settled at their lowest since December 10 due to a surprise build in U.S. fuel inventories that hinted at weakening demand and hopes for a potential peace deal between Russia and...
EUR/USD pulled back on Wednesday, shedding around one-quarter of one percent after US President Donald Trump insisted that tariffs are coming for the European Union too, not just Canada and Mexico.The group of nations not facing tariff threats from the White House is rapidly diminishing. Should a full-scale trade war unfold, the Euro has now been added to the list of vulnerable currencies that may experience increased volatility due to shifting risk sentiment, as investors struggle to keep pace with the frequent updates emanating from the White House. This week, UK data is relatively...