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 moved steadily in Tuesday morning trading, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) holding near US$59 per barrel after rising more than 1% on Monday, while Brent closed above US$63 per barrel. Risk-on sentiment in global financial markets supported prices, as stocks and other commodities rallied on expectations of further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The optimistic mood was also supported by the latest talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping following last month's tariff truce agreement. On the geopolitical front, the market is closely...
GBP/USD traded flat and hovered around the 1.3100 level at the start of the week, as trading momentum slowed. Market participants faced a very short week due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US: US markets were closed on Thursday and only open for a half-day on Friday. In practice, there were only three effective days when both London and New York markets were active, so cable movement tended to be limited. On the fundamental side, expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates for the third consecutive time in December remained quite strong. The FedWatch Tool showed the...
Gold prices rose by around 1.7% to around US$4,134 per troy ounce as market participants became increasingly confident that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates at its December 9-10 meeting. Dovish comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller and New York Fed President John Williams fueled expectations of a rate cut, particularly amid signs of weakness in the US labor market and the delay in several data releases due to the government shutdown. Swap traders now assess the probability of a December rate cut at nearly 80%, although there are still differing views within the Fed...
Oil prices rose about 1% on Monday as rising bets on US interest rates in December offset the prospect of a peace deal in Ukraine that could lead to the easing of sanctions on Russian oil. Brent crude futures rose 78 cents, or 1.3%, to $63.34 a barrel at 2:14 p.m. EST (19:14 GMT), while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 77 cents, or 1.3%, to $58.83. Both benchmarks closed Friday at their lowest levels since October 21. Federal Reserve Chairman Christopher Waller said on Monday that available data suggests the US labor market remains weak enough to justify another quarter-point...
Gold prices rose near $4,120 per ounce on Monday (October 24th) after a modest weekly decline as investors awaited US retail sales and PPI data due on Tuesday and weekly jobless claims on Wednesday. Comments from New York Fed President John Williams and Fed Governor Christopher Waller increased the odds of a 25 bps interest rate cut in December to about 79%, according to CME FedWatch. The repricing pushed Treasury yields lower and weakened the dollar, reducing the opportunity cost of holding bullion and providing clear support for prices, even as the AI-driven equity rally again attracted...