The Hang Seng rose 192 points, or 0.7%, to finish at 26,160 on Friday, extending gains from the prior session. The increase came after Shanghai shares hit a 10-year peak, on strong inflows and China's pledge at the conclusion of a plenum to boost the household consumption's share in GDP over the next five years. Policymakers also reaffirmed their commitment to meet 2025 economic targets and support tech self-reliance. Gains were broad-based, led by tech, consumer, and property stocks. SMIC jumped 7.4%, followed by Horizon Robotics (6.1%), China Hongqiao Group (4.1%), and Trip.com...
The GBP/USD pair remains on the defensive around 1.2895, the lowest since August 16 during the early Asian trading hours on Friday. The major pair edges lower after the UK Labour government announced its first Autumn Forecast Statement on Wednesday. The US inflation, as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index (PCE), grew at a slightly faster-than-expected pace in September. Data released by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on Thursday showed that the headline PCE rose 2.1% YoY in September, compared to 2.2% in August, in line with the market consensus of...
Gold was steady after its biggest one-day drop since July, as traders took profits near record-high levels and strong US data weakened the case for further monetary easing. Bullion traded near $2,745 an ounce and was on track to end this week little changed. The metal fell from a record-high on Thursday as Treasury yields climbed, reflecting a drop in expectations for aggressive Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts following an unexpected drop in new jobless claims and a pick up in underlying inflation. Higher rates tend to weigh on gold, which...