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 Pound (GBP) surrendered all its intraday gains against the US Dollar (USD) and fell back near 1.2400 in the North American session on Friday (7/2) after the release of the US (US) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for January. The US NFP report showed that the economy added 143K workers in January, much lower than the 170K estimate and the previous reading of 307K, revised up from 256K. The Unemployment Rate slowed to 4% from the estimate and the previous reading of 4.1%. The Average Hourly Earnings data, a key measure of wage growth that drives consumer spending, surprisingly came in higher...
Oil futures rose on Friday from 2025 lows, but were on track for a third straight weekly decline amid rising U.S. inventories and concerns that higher U.S. tariffs on China would hurt growth and demand for crude. Price movement West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery CL00 CL.1 CLH25 rose 52 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $71.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, but was headed for a weekly decline of 1.9%. --Brent crude for April delivery BRN00 BRNJ25, the global benchmark, rose 55 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $74.84 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, on track for a weekly...
Gold futures rose, hovering just below their all-time high. Gold futures were up 0.55% at $2,892.50 an ounce, just shy of their all-time high of $2,906 set on Wednesday. Rather than the usual price drivers -- a strong U.S. dollar and interest rate expectations -- it was demand for safe-haven assets in turbulent political times that drove the rally, Commerzbank analysts said. This particularly reflects uncertainty surrounding President Trump's policies, they said in a note. A sharp rise in rental rates also points to tensions in the physical market. However, there are already signs of...
EUR/USD is steady in a tight range around 1.0400 during the European session on Friday (7/2) as the US Dollar (USD) trades cautiously ahead of the US (US) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for January, due to be published at 13:30 GMT. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, is fluctuating around 107.80. Economists expect the US economy to have added 170,000 jobs, down from 256,000 in December. The Unemployment Rate is expected to remain steady at 4.1%. The official employment data is expected to drive market speculation about how long the...
The AUD/USD pair moved up in the European session on Friday (7/2) but continues to face pressure near 0.6300. The Australian currency pair moved sideways as investors await the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for January, due to be published at 13:30 GMT. Market participants will be closely focused on the employment data, which will provide clues on how long the Federal Reserve (Fed) will keep interest rates steady between 4.25% and 4.50%. The US economy added 170,000 jobs last month, down from 256,000 in December, according to estimates. The Unemployment Rate is expected to remain steady...