The Hang Seng rose 169 points or 0.7% to close at 24,902 on Tuesday, reversing early losses and marking its second consecutive session of gains. Sentiment improved after a private survey showed China's services activity grew at the fastest pace in 14 months in July, supported by rises in new orders, foreign sales, and employment. A rally on Wall Street also lifted mood, as weaker U.S. jobs data fueled bets on a Fed rate cut in September. Gains were broad-based, led by financials, tech, and consumers, as investors looked past weather-related disruptions in Hong Kong, including heavy rain...
Oil held a weekly decline on concerns over plentiful supply and the outlook for demand in China, the world's biggest crude importer. Brent crude traded below $71 a barrel after falling 3.8% last week, while West Texas Intermediate was near $67. The prospect of a supply glut next year and a stronger dollar has weighed on prices, while monthly figures showed another drop in apparent oil demand in China during October. Oil has swung between gains and losses since mid-October, with hostilities in the Middle East at times raising fears of an escalation and potential disruption to...
Gold rises in the early Asian trade in a likely technical recovery. Gold ended Friday's trading with largest weekly price drop since the Covid lockdown in March 2020. Recently, Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized there's no hurry to cut rates, pointing to U.S. economy's "notable" performance, says Pepperstone's Quasar Elizundia in an email. The shift in Fed rate-cut expectations and U.S. dollar strength have pressured the precious metal, the research strategist adds. Spot gold is 0.4% higher at $2,572.17/oz. Source: Marketwatch
Oil futures settled at their lowest in over two months Friday with expectations for a supply surplus next year, strength in the U.S. dollar, and continued worries over demand from China - the world's largest crude importer - prompting prices to post a loss for the week. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery fell $1.68, or nearly 2.5%, to settle at $67.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices based on the front month contract settled at their lowest since Sept. 10 and logged a weekly fall of 4.8%, according to Dow Jones Market Data. January Brent crude, the...
Gold edged lower mid-afternoon on Friday following five losing sessions as the dollar eased and U.S. October retail sales came in higher-than-expected. Gold for December delivery was last seen down US$2.90 to US$2,570.00 per ounce. The dollar eased off a two-year high early, with the ICE dollar index last seen down 0.07points to 106.6. The rise comes as the U.S. Department of Commerce reported retail sales rose 0.4% in October, matching the September rise but ahead of the consensus estimate for a 0.3% increase. The rise showed the U.S. economy remains solid, with Federal Reserve chair...
The U.S. dollar was set for its biggest weekly gain in over a month on Friday, as markets reassessed expectations of future interest rate cuts and with the view that President-elect Donald Trump's policies could stoke inflation. The dollar has benefited from market expectation that Trump administration policies, including tariffs and tax cuts, could stoke inflation, leaving the Federal Reserve less room to cut interest rates. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said on Thursday the U.S. central bank did not need to rush to lower interest rates, prompting traders to axe their more aggressive bets on...