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 rose in early Asian trade on the prospect of fresh supply disruptions, ANZ research analysts said in a commentary. New US sanctions on Russia's oil industry prompted many buyers to look for alternatives, analysts said. However, the recent gains may be short-lived as Trump has vowed to end the Russia-Ukraine war soon, analysts added. In the short term, the market is also eyeing cold weather in the Permian Basin, a major shale oil producer in Texas, they said. Front-month WTI crude rose 0.5% to $78.35/bbl; front-month Brent crude rose 0.5% to $81.17/bbl. Source: Dow Jones Newswires
Gold edged down after three days of gains mid-afternoon Friday as the dollar rebounded from two days of losses that followed on soft U.S. economic data that spurred hopes for faster interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Gold for February delivery was last seen down US$0.90 to US$2,750.00 per ounce. U.S. economic data this week showed core inflation and retail sales were softer than expected in December, reviving hopes the Federal Reserve will speed rate cuts, though the central bank is widely expected to leave rates unchanged at the Jan.29 end to the next meeting of its policy...
WTI crude oil futures declined 1% to settle at $77.89 per barrel and Brent crude oil futures fell 0.6% to settle at $80.79 per barrel on Friday, driven by expectations of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, which could reduce attacks on ships by Yemen's Houthi militia. Despite this drop, oil prices marked a fourth consecutive week of gains, rising more than 1%, primarily fueled by concerns over new U.S. sanctions targeting Russian oil producers and tankers, raising fears of tighter global oil supplies. Analysts highlighted that these concerns, coupled with expectations of U.S. interest rate...
WTI crude oil futures fell to $78 per barrel and Brent crude oil futures fell below $81 per barrel on Friday but remained on track for a fourth consecutive week of gains, driven by concerns over US sanctions on Russian energy. Last week, the Biden administration imposed broader sanctions targeting Russian oil producers and tankers, raising fears of supply disruptions. Investors are also watching for potential impacts from President-elect Donald Trump's return to office, as his Treasury pick has signaled tougher sanctions on Russia. Meanwhile, expectations of a ceasefire deal in Gaza, which...
The US dollar edged higher Friday, but was on course for a weekly loss after core inflation eased, while sterling retreated following the release of weak retail sales data. At 04:30 ET (09:30 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.1% higher to 108.930, but was set for a drop of about 0.5% in the week, which would snap a six-week winning streak. The dollar has retreated this week after cooler than expected inflation data raised the possibility of easier monetary policy this year, even after policymakers at the Federal Reserve...