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...
Oil prices were trading higher on Monday after the United States vowed to keep up attacks on Yemen's Houthis until the Iran-aligned group ends its attacks on shipping. Brent crude futures rose 56 cents, or 0.8%, to $71.14 a barrel by 0800 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 56 cents, also 0.8%, to $67.74 a barrel. The U.S. airstrikes, which the Houthi-led health ministry said killed at least 53 people, were the largest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January. A U.S. official told Reuters the campaign could last...
Gold (XAU/USD) prices struggled to gain any meaningful traction at the start of a new week and oscillated in a narrow range just below its all-time highs above the psychological $3,000 level touched on Friday. Meanwhile, the near-term bias seems tilted towards the bulls amid concerns over escalating trade tensions and its impact on the global economy. This, along with geopolitical risks, should continue to act as a tailwind for the safe-haven bullion. Meanwhile, traders are now pricing in the possibility of the Federal Reserve (Fed) cutting interest rates multiple times this year amid a...
Gold price (XAU/USD) extends its sideways consolidative price move through the first half of the European session on Monday and remains below the all-time peak – levels beyond the $3,000 psychological mark touched on Friday. Bulls now seem reluctant to place fresh bets and opt to move to the sidelines ahead of this week's key central bank event risks – the highly-anticipated Bank of Japan (BoJ) policy decision and the outcome of a two-day FOMC meeting on Wednesday. In the meantime, worries about escalating trade tensions and their impact on the global economy, along with geopolitical...
Oil prices traded higher on Monday after the United States vowed to keep attacking Yemen's Houthis until the Iran-aligned group ends its assaults on shipping. Brent futures rose 56 cents, or 0.8%, to $71.14 a barrel by 0800 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 56 cents, also 0.8%, to $67.74 a barrel. The U.S. airstrikes, which the Houthi-run health ministry said killed at least 53 people, are the biggest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January. One U.S. official told Reuters the campaign might run for...
The USD/CHF pair attracts some sellers to around 0.8845 during the early European session on Monday. US President Donald Trump's unpredictable trade policy and a series of weak US economic data weigh on the US Dollar (USD) against the Swiss Franc (CHF). Later on Monday, the US February Retail Sales data will be published. Optimism that the Trump administration would boost the economy turned into concerns that his trade policies might spark a recession. Data released on Friday indicated that the US Consumer Sentiment Index fell to a nearly 2-1/2-year low in March, but inflation expectations...