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 edged up to their highest in two weeks on Tuesday as sanctions raised concerns about Russian and Iranian oil supplies and tensions in the Middle East escalated, outweighing concerns that trade tariffs would raise inflation and hurt global economic growth. Brent crude futures rose $1.13, or 1.5%, to settle at $77.00 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.00, or 1.4%, to settle at $73.32. That sent both crude benchmarks up for a third day and to their highest close since Jan. 28. "With U.S. pressure on Iranian exports and sanctions still squeezing...
Gold prices fell below $2,900 an ounce on Tuesday (2/11) from a record $2,940 as investors took profits, although sentiment remained bullish amid trade tensions. The decline was driven by short-term traders cashing in profits, with some expecting consolidation before the next move higher. President Trump's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports fueled fears of a broader trade war, adding to market uncertainty. Investors now await Wednesday's US inflation data, which could shape Fed policy expectations. While gold is a hedge against inflation, the Fed's cautious stance on rate cuts could...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar against six major currencies, is broadly flat and still resides above 108.00. The Greenback looks to be immune to US President Donald Trump's tariff talks. While China silently slapped some minor tariffs on US goods in a tit-for-tat move on Monday, Trump introduced a 15% levy on steel and aluminum for all countries importing that will come into effect on March 12. Source: FXStreet
Gold's price (XAU/USD) has breached the previous all-time high and sets a new record high at $2,942 in early Tuesday trading before flipping into a loss for the day. Meanwhile, United States (US) President Donald Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports for all countries as of March 12,, while China has quietly imposed retaliatory tariffs on some US goods. China is only showing its teeth by now and has not gone full blazing, while US President Trump is nowhere near his promised 60% levies on all Chinese products as announced earlier in his campaign, Bloomberg...
EUR/USD ticks higher but is broadly sideways around 1.0300 in Tuesday's European trading session as investors await the Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell's testimony before Congress at 15:00 GMT. Investors will pay close attention to Powell's comments to know for how long the Fed will keep interest rates steady in the range of 4.25%-4.50% and the likely impact of 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports on the monetary policy outlook. In January, the Fed left interest rates unchanged and Powell said that the central bank will remain in the waiting mode until it sees "real...