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...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) was supported as copper futures surged to a new record high on the Comex exchange on Tuesday (3/26), benefiting from Australia's position as one of the leading copper exporters. Bloomberg reported that Trump could speed up the timetable for imposing tariffs on US copper imports. While the Commerce Department originally had 270 days from February 2025 to investigate and report on potential tariffs, recent developments suggest that the tariffs could be implemented within weeks, much sooner than the original deadline. The AUD weakened against the US Dollar (USD)...
Gold (XAU/USD) prices struggled to capitalize on the previous day's up-move and attracted some intraday sellers during the Asian session on Wednesday (3/26). The US Dollar (USD) regained some positive traction and moved back closer to near three-week highs touched on Tuesday. This, along with the general positive sentiment around equity markets, acted as a headwind for the safe-haven precious metal. However, uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's so-called reciprocal tariff plan for next week helped Gold prices hold above the psychological $3,000 mark. Additionally, bets that the...
The EUR/USD pair strengthened near 1.0780 during Asian trading hours on Wednesday (3/26). The greenback weakened against the euro (EUR) on weak US economic data and uncertainty surrounding US President Donald Trump's trade policies ahead of a new round of tariffs next week. The US Durable Goods Orders report for February is due on Wednesday. Weak confidence data and concerns about an economic slowdown in the United States could drag the US dollar (USD) lower. Data released by the Conference Board on Tuesday showed that US consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in more than four years...
Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday on supply concerns with the U.S. stepping up efforts to curb Venezuelan and Iranian oil exports, while a bigger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude inventories also provided support. Brent crude futures were up 20 cents, or 0.3%, at $73.22 a barrel by 0404 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 20 cents, or 0.3%, at $69.20 a barrel. Both contracts hit three-week highs in the previous session. "Crude prices maintained a bullish bias after Trump's sanctions on Venezuelan oil, raising supply-side concerns," Priyanka Sachdeva, senior...
Silver (XAG/USD) attracted some sellers during the Asian session on Wednesday (3/26) and eroded part of the previous day's strong up-move. The white metal is currently trading around the $33.65-$33.60 area, down 0.30% for the day, although the downside appears limited amid the bullish technical setup. XAG/USD showed some resilience last week below the $33.00 level and the 100-period Simple Moving Average (SMA) on the 4-hour chart. The subsequent up-move and positive oscillators on the daily chart validate the positive outlook. Hence, any further intraday decline could be seen as a buying...