The Hang Seng rose 171 points or 0.7% to close at 25,082 on Wednesday, reversing early losses as all sectors ended in the green. It was the fourth session of gains, helped by upbeat Chinese trade data. Exports accelerated in July due to front-loaded shipments, while imports saw the strongest growth in a year amid continued policy support from Beijing. Traders remained focused on the August 12 deadline, watching for progress in U.S.-China tariff negotiations. Tech shares posted modest gains despite Trump's remarks that the U.S. may impose 100% tariffs on certain chip imports—an outcome...
USD/JPY climbs back closer to 150.00 mark.The Japanese Yen (JPY) edges lower against its American counterpart during the Asian session on Tuesday and pushes the USD/JPY pair away from the lowest level since October 16 touched the previous day. However, speculations that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) could hike interest rates again in December should limit any meaningful JPY depreciation. Apart from this, US President-elect Donald Trump's looming trade tariff threats, along with persistent geopolitical risks, might underpin the safe-haven JPY. Meanwhile, the recent decline in the US Treasury bond...
Global oil prices ended little changed Monday, while U.S. prices posted a modest gain as upbeat manufacturing data from China lifted prospects for energy demand. A cease-fire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah led to a drop in prices for the month of November. Weakness on Friday came after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies — known together as OPEC+ — delayed until Thursday a meeting that had been set for Sunday. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery rose 10 cents, or nearly 0.2%, to settle at $68.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile...
Gold traded lower mid-afternoon on Monday as the dollar climbed on rising expectations the Federal Reserve may not lower interest rates when the central bank's policy committee meets later this month. Gold for February delivery was last seen down US$21.70 to US$2,659.30 per ounce. The precious metal has been mostly rangebound since correcting from a record high of US$2,800.80 on Oct.30, as the dollar surged following the U.S. election and inflation remains stuck above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. "Gold slipped as the dollar rose overnight, highlighting its current rangebound behavior...
Crude oil prices have started to rise as tensions mount ahead of the most important OPEC+ meeting before 2025, which will be held on Thursday. Ahead of the meeting, Iranian official Afshin Javan made an ominous statement by issuing an opinion piece that blamed OPEC+ for the current low prices. The main point of the opinion piece was that OPEC+ had kept oil prices high for too long, funding its competitors to boost cheaper alternatives. The debate is heated ahead of Thursday's online meeting after Afshin Javan's opinion piece, where OPEC+ will agree to extend its production curbs. At the...
Gold dropped 1% on Monday, ending a four-session winning streak, weighed down by a robust U.S. dollar, as investors eyed upcoming economic data and remarks from Federal Reserve officials for clues on the future of U.S. interest rates. Spot gold was down 0.5% to $2,640.93 per ounce, as of 1207 GMT. It was down 1% earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures fell 0.6% to $2,663.90. The dollar index gained 0.5%, on track for its best day in over a week, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for holders of other currencies. Trump on Saturday called on BRICS nations to pledge not to...