Hong Kong stocks continued to weaken. The Hang Seng Index fell 1.3% to 25,555.02 at 10:14 a.m. local time, widening its weekly loss to 2.8%. Hang Seng Tech also fell 2.3%. The biggest pressure came from large caps: BYD Electronics -5.2%, SMIC -4.3%, Alibaba -2.7%, and Tencent -1.1%. In mainland China, the CSI 300 -1.3% and the Shanghai Composite -0.9%. After rallying more than 30% this year, sentiment has turned cautious. All eyes are on Monday's Chinese data releases: third-quarter GDP, retail sales, and industrial production. Economists' consensus forecasts GDP at ~4.7% (y/y), the slowest...
Gold prices soared on Monday, after six days of losses, as the U.S. dollar's surge stalled and heightened uncertainty over the Russia-Ukraine conflict rekindled safe-haven demand. Spot gold jumped 1.8% to $2,608.19 per ounce by 01:44 p.m. ET (1844 GMT), moving away from a two-month low on Thursday. U.S. gold futures settled 1.7% up at $2,614.60. Gold, which is considered a safe investment during economic and geopolitical turmoil, posted its steepest weekly drop in more than three years last week as President-elect Trump's proposed tariffs are seen as potential drivers of inflation, which...
Gold prices soared on Monday, after six days of losses, as the U.S. dollar's surge stalled and heightened uncertainty over the Russia-Ukraine conflict rekindled safe-haven demand. Spot gold jumped 1.9% to $2,608.88 per ounce by 10:17 a.m. ET (1517 GMT), moving away from a two-month low on Thursday. U.S. gold futures climbed 1.7% to $2,613.40. "Part of it is (President) Biden's announcement of long-range missiles for Ukraine to reach deeper into Russian territory. I think some of it is prompting safe-haven demand for gold," said Daniel Pavilonis, senior market strategist at RJO...
Silver prices climbed above $30.50 per ounce on Monday, recovering from two-month lows as the dollar rally stalled and investors reassessed the outlook for Federal Reserve monetary policy. The dollar faced a wave of profit-taking following its recent rally which was driven by expectations of fewer Fed rate cuts and optimism about US economic outperformance under the incoming Trump administration. Investors are now waiting for more comments from Fed officials this week for further guidance on the US interest rate path. Markets are also focused on China's upcoming LPR decision, with hopes that...
Oil edged higher but remained close to its lowest in almost seven weeks amid concerns about excess supply and weak Chinese demand. Global benchmark Brent inched up, after earlier dipping to its lowest level since the start of October, though it continued to trade below $72 a barrel following its tumble last week. A slower than usual selling pace for Angolan crude was the latest signal of weak Chinese demand, and the International Energy Agency has warned that global oil markets face a sizeable surplus next year. Oil has swung between gains and losses in...
The U.S. dollar eased slightly from a recent one-year high at the start of a week that was light on major economic data but included comments from a series of Fed speakers. At 4:50 AM ET (09:50 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, was trading 0.1% lower at 106.497, just below a one-year high of 106.72. The index gained 1.6% for the week, marking its sixth winning week in the past seven. Dollar holds its strength The dollar has benefited from a structural bullish shift since the election of Donald Trump toward the start of the month,...