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 Australian Dollar (AUD) remains subdued against the US Dollar (USD) for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday. The AUD/USD pair remains under pressure after Australia's monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed a 2.5% year-over-year rise in January, matching December's increase. This fell short of market expectations for 2.6% growth. China's Commerce Ministry announced on Wednesday that the country's International Trade Representative and Vice Minister of Commerce, Wang Shouwen, met with US business leaders. The discussions focused primarily on tariffs, though no further details were...
USD/JPY pair rebounds to near 149.30 during the Asian trading hours on Wednesday. However, the global risk-off sentiment and rising bet of more interest-rate hikes from the Bank of Japan (BoJ) might boost the Japanese Yen (JPY) and cap the upside for the pair. The BOJ is anticipated to raise rates from 0.50% to 0.75% this year, which could influence investor sentiment and support the JPY. Overnight index swaps are fully pricing an increase in borrowing costs by September and pricing in a 50% odd move as soon as June, according to Bloomberg. Japan's Services Producer Pricing Index (PPI)...
The Gold price (XAU/USD) recovers some lost ground after reaching a one-week low in the previous session. The uncertainty and ongoing fears of instability around US President Donald Trump's tariff plans provide some support to the yellow metal, a traditional safe-haven asset. Nonetheless, analysts believe that Trump's plans for higher tariffs have raised inflation worries at the US Federal Reserve (Fed), which might convince the US central bank to keep interest rates higher for longer. This, in turn, might cap the upside for the precious metal as higher interest rates tarnish non-yielding...
The U.S. dollar sagged near an 11-week low against its major peers on Wednesday, under pressure from sliding short-term Treasury yields after a run of weak economic data. The safe-haven yen strengthened towards its highest level since October with investor sentiment fragile amid the threat of new rounds of tariffs from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, whereas the Canadian dollar hovered near a two-week trough with additional levies due to hit next week. "U.S. data flow on net is now disappointing expectations, calling into question the U.S. exceptionalism narrative that...
Gold edges higher in early Asian trade likely due to a technical recovery after front-month Comex gold futures fell sharply overnight. However, demand for safe-haven assets could keep gold prices near record levels, FlowCommunity's Ruben Ferreira says in an email. Market volatility has increased after U.S. President Trump said tariffs on Mexico and Canada were set to move forward next week, the head of Portuguese Operations says. This has damped hopes for an easing in trade tensions and could drive more bullish sentiment for the precious metal, Ferreira adds. Spot gold is 0.2% higher at...