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 US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar (USD) against six major currencies, is flat and orbits around 107.30 at the time of writing on Friday and tries to keep a hold on that level. Markets got shaken up again overnight as United States (US) President Donald Trump confirmed that tariffs for Canada and Mexico are going into effect on March 4. Meanwhile, China will face an additional 10% levy on the same day. On the economic data front, all eyes on Friday were on the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data for January. In the second reading of the US...
Oil prices are down over 1% on Friday and were headed for their first monthly drop since November, as markets braced for Washington's tariff threats and Iraq's decision to resume oil exports from the Kurdistan region. Uncertainty surrounding OPEC's production resumption plans in April and ongoing peace talks to end the war in Ukraine also weighed on investor sentiment. The more active May Brent crude futures slipped 88 cents, or 1.20%, to $72.69 a barrel by 1212 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $69.36 a barrel, down 99 cents, or 1.41%. Front-month Brent, which...
Gold's price (XAU/USD) is getting knocked out and is facing a substantial 3% loss since it printed a new all-time high at $2,956 on Monday at the start of this week. The precious metal currently trades at $2,860 at the time of writing, after United States (US) President Donald Trump reiterated that tariffs for Mexico and Canada will start on March 4, while China will see an additional 10%, raising the total rates to20% on imports into the US. This dampens hopes markets still had for a possible delay in the implementation of these tariffs. Meanwhile, the US Personal Consumption Expenditures...
Gold's price (XAU/USD) sees losses accelerate going into Friday with a near 3% loss since it printed a new all-time high at $2,956 on Monday. The precious metal currently trades at $2,860 at the time of writing, after United States (US) President Donald Trump reiterated that tariffs for Mexico and Canada will start on March 4, while China will see an additional 10%, raising the total rates to20% on imports into the US. This dampens hopes markets still had for a possible delay in the implementation of these tariffs. Meanwhile, China is set to retaliate and it is ready to hit back at Trump's...
Rapid drop in Pound Sterling (GBP) could extend vs US Dollar (USD); oversold conditions suggest any decline is part of a lower 1.2570/12640 range. In the longer run, two-week GBP strength has ended; for the time being, it is likely to trade between 1.2520 and 1.2670, UOB Group's FX analysts Quek Ser Leang and Peter Chia note. Source: FXStreet