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) maintains its position against the US Dollar (USD) on Wednesday. However, the AUD/USD pair faced challenges due to US President Donald Trump's 25% tariff hike and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's indication that the central bank was in no hurry to cut interest rates further. President Trump's trade adviser, Peter Navarro, criticized Australia late Tuesday, accusing the country of "killing the aluminum market" just a day after Trump signed executive orders imposing import tariffs on certain metals. Australia is seeking exemptions from the new steel and aluminum tariffs,...
Gold edges lower in early Asian trade amid mixed signals. Higher Treasury yields and a stronger U.S. dollar offset safe-haven demand on concerns of trade wars, says Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com, in an email. Meanwhile, gold has reached extreme levels with the relative strength index showing overbought signals across multiple timeframes, based on charts, the analyst says. These RSI levels suggest that a pullback or consolidation may be on the horizon, the analyst adds. Spot gold is little changed at $2,895.58/oz. Source : Dow Jones Newswires
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $72.95 during the early Asian session on Wednesday. The WTI price edges higher to a two-week high amid the escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The latest US sanctions imposed on the Russian oil industry in January raised concerns about Russian and Iranian oil supplies, boosting the black gold price. "With the U.S. bearing down on Iranian exports and sanctions still biting into Russian flows, Asian crude grades remain firm and underpin the rally from yesterday," PVM oil analyst John Evans...
GBP/USD recovered on Tuesday (11/2) , ending a three-day losing streak and recovering to touch the 1.2450 level, up about two-thirds of a percent on the day. Global forex markets sold off the US dollar a bit as risk appetite recovered across the board, supported by a calm performance from Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell and expectations that US President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats will be averted by last-minute concessions, as has been the pattern since Donald Trump took over the White House. UK data remained thin throughout the mid-week session, but cable traders...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the US dollar against a basket of currencies, remained down for a second day after hearing remarks from the US central bank chief. Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell's testimony to Congress emphasized a data-driven approach, suggesting that interest rates will remain steady unless inflation or labor conditions change. This notion reduces the likelihood of a rate cut at the March meeting. The US Dollar Index struggled to maintain momentum, slipping below its 20-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) around 108.50. The Relative...