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...
Gold (XAU/USD) prices continued its consolidative price movement near record highs through the first half of the European session (3/19) on Wednesday as investors braced ahead of the FOMC policy update. The Federal Reserve (Fed) will announce its decision later during the US session and is widely expected to keep the federal funds rate unchanged in the current range of 4.25% to 4.50%. Hence, the focus will remain on the accompanying policy statement and the latest economic projections, which include the so-called dot plot. Apart from this, Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments at the...
Oil prices fell on Wednesday after Russia agreed to US President Donald Trump's proposal that Moscow and Kyiv temporarily stop attacking each other's energy infrastructure, which could allow more Russian oil to enter the global market. Brent crude was down 23 cents, or 0.3%, at $70.33 a barrel by 0730 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 25 cents, or 0.4%, at $66.65. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday agreed to stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities but stopped short of a full 30-day truce that Trump had hoped for. "The agreement marks a positive step...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) moved little after the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) decision to leave the short-term interest rate target unchanged and remains depressed in the wake of weaker-than-expected domestic data released earlier this Wednesday. Apart from this, a modest US Dollar (USD) bounce, from a multi-month low touched on Tuesday, lifts the USD/JPY pair above mid-149.00s during the Asian session. The JPY bears, however, seem reluctant to place aggressive bets and opt to wait for BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda's comments at the post-meeting press conference. Investors will look for cues about the...
Gold price (XAU/USD) touches a fresh all-time peak, around the $3,039 region during the Asian session on Wednesday, though it lacks follow-through as traders opt to wait for the outcome of a two-day FOMC policy meeting. The Federal Reserve (Fed) is scheduled to announce its decision later today and is expected to keep the federal funds rate unchanged at the current range of 4.25% to 4.50%. Hence, the focus will be on updated economic projections and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments at the post-meeting press conference. Investors will look for cues about the future rate-cut path, which, in...
Oil prices fell on Wednesday after Russia agreed to U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal that Moscow and Kyiv stop attacking each other's energy infrastructure temporarily, which could lead to more Russian oil entering global markets. Brent crude futures fell 19 cents, or 0.3%, to $70.37 a barrel by 0420 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was down 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $66.70. Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Tuesday to stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities but stopped short of endorsing a full 30-day ceasefire that Trump hoped for. Russia is one of the world's...