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...
Gold (XAU/USD) prices maintained their negative bias through the first half of the European session on Friday, albeit lacked any follow-through selling and remained near one-month highs touched the previous day. The US Dollar (USD) regained some positive traction and for now, seems to have snapped three consecutive days of losing streak amid growing acceptance that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will pause its interest rate-cutting cycle later this month. This, along with a generally positive tone around equity markets, turned out to be the key factors undermining the precious metal. Meanwhile,...
Gold price (XAU/USD) enters a bullish consolidation phase during the Asian session on Friday and oscillates in a range around the $2,715 region, just below a one-month high touched the previous day. Expectations that softer inflation in the US will allow the Federal Reserve (Fed) to cut interest rates further this year led to the recent decline in the US Treasury bond yields and the US Dollar (USD). This, in turn, is seen as a key factor that continues to underpin the non-yielding yellow metal and supports prospects for additional gains. That said, easing fears about US President-elect...
Silver price (XAG/USD) holds steady after three consecutive days of gains, trading near $30.80 per troy ounce during the Asian session on Friday. The industrial demand for the grey metal may rise further, supported by strong economic data from China. China's Industrial Production grew by 6.2% year-over-year in December, exceeding market expectations and the 5.4% growth rate recorded in November. This marks the fastest industrial output growth since April, driven largely by stronger manufacturing activity following stimulus measures introduced in September.Additionally, China's Gross...
The U.S. dollar weakened against the yen on Thursday, as softer-than-expected U.S. economic data and growing confidence for a Bank of Japan interest-rate hike sent it tumbling to a near one-month low against the Japanese currency. Recent remarks from BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda and his deputy Ryozo Himino have made clear that a hike will at least be discussed at next week's policy meeting. Markets see about a 79% chance of a 25-basis-point increase. Japan's annual wholesale inflation held steady at 3.8% in December on stubbornly high food costs, data showed on Thursday. The greenback was down...
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices were trading around $77.85 on Friday (17/1). WTI prices fell slightly as Houthi attacks in the Red Sea were expected to halt after a ceasefire deal in the Gaza war between Israel and the Hamas militant group was reached. Maritime security officials said on Thursday that they expected the Houthi militia to announce an end to its attacks on ships in the Red Sea. "The Houthi developments and the ceasefire in Gaza are helping to keep the region calm, taking some of the safety premium off oil prices," said John Kilduff, a partner at...