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 dollar weakened on Monday and traded near a four-month low against major currencies as concerns over a global trade war unsettled investors, lifting the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc. The market has been fixated on trade tensions since U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on major trading partners only to delay some of them for a month amid growing signs and concerns of a U.S. economic slowdown. That has caused investors to lose confidence in the U.S. economy, which has outperformed its peers. In currency futures, investors have cut their net long dollar position to $15.3...
Oil prices fell on Monday as concerns about the impact of U.S. import tariffs on global economic growth and fuel demand, as well as rising output from OPEC+ producers, cooled investor appetite for riskier assets. Brent crude was down 6 cents at $70.30 a barrel by 0720 GMT after closing up 90 cents on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $66.96 a barrel, down 8 cents after closing up 68 cents in the previous session. WTI fell for a seventh straight week, its longest losing streak since November 2023, while Brent fell for a third straight week after U.S. President Donald Trump...
Gold rose on Monday, supported by a weaker dollar and safe-haven inflows amid concerns about an escalating global trade war, while investors awaited further signals to gauge the Federal Reserve's interest rate stance. Spot gold was up 0.1% at $2,914.00 an ounce by 0701 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were up 0.2% at $2,920.10. The dollar index (.DXY), opens a new tab , hovered near a four-month low hit last week, making dollar-priced bullion cheaper for overseas buyers. "There are increasing downside risks to growth, while U.S. foreign policy is also a source of uncertainty, which adds to...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) remains on the front foot against its American counterpart through the Asian session on Monday, with the USD/JPY pair holding just above the lowest level since October touched in the aftermath of weaker US jobs report on Friday. Data released during the Asian session on Monday showed that the base pay in Japan surged to a 32-year high in January, while real cash earnings fell 1.8% on the back of persistent inflation. This comes on top of a growing confidence that bumper wage hikes seen last year will continue this year and backs the case for further interest rate...
Gold price (XAU/USD) continues with its struggle to gain any meaningful traction during the Asian session on Monday and remains confined in a familiar range held over the past week or so. The downside, however, remains cushioned amid fears of a global trade conflict, which continues to offer support to the safe-haven bullion. Furthermore, the growing acceptance that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates multiple times this year, bolstered by Friday's weaker US jobs data, turns out to be another factor acting as a tailwind for the non-yielding yellow metal. Apart from this,...