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 more than 2% on Wednesday, supported by a large draw in U.S. crude stockpiles and potential supply disruptions caused by new U.S. sanctions on Russia, while a Gaza ceasefire deal limited gains. Brent crude futures settled $2.11, or 2.64%, higher at $82.03 a barrel, the highest since August 2024. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) settled up $2.54, or 3.28%, at $80.04 a barrel, the highest since July. In post settlement trade, Brent rose to the highest since July and WTI gained more than $3 a barrel. U.S. crude oil inventories fell last week to their lowest since...
Gold traded higher mid-afternoon on Wednesday as the dollar and yields fell after a U.S. inflation measure rose more than expected last month. Gold for February delivery was last seen up US$35.80 to US$2,718.10 per ounce, the highest since Dec.11. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.4% in December, up from 0.3% in November and ahead of the consensus estimate for a rise of 0.3%, according to FactSet. Core CPI, excluding food and energy, rose 3.2% annualized, under the consensus outlook for a 3.3% rise. Though the Federal Reserve is still widely...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback's value against six major currencies, is heading lower on Wednesday in the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) release aftermath. Numbers came in either in line or a touch softer than expected, which is perceived as disinflationary. Although it was not a stellar surprise as on Tuesday with the Producer Price Index (PPI), where all data points came in lower or at the lowest estimate, the CPI reading is enough to bring back that initial Federal Reserve rate cut for 2025 from September to July. For the remainder of this Wednesday all eyes will...
Gold rose to the $2,690 per ounce mark on Wednesday, extending gains from the prior session to its highest in over one month as cooling underlying inflation in the US favored bets of less restrictive monetary policy by the Fed this year. Core consumer inflation unexpectedly slowed on an annual basis, while headline consumer prices refrained from showing aggressive upside surprises. The results supported bullion and Treasuries across all durations as progress in disinflation would allow FOMC members to ease monetary restriction, lowering the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding...
Silver prices (XAG/USD) rose on Wednesday, according to FXStreet data. Silver trades at $30.09 per troy ounce, up 0.64% from the $29.90 it cost on Tuesday. Silver prices have increased by 4.13% since the beginning of the year. Source: FXstreet