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 prices fell on Monday as U.S. Treasury yields rose, while the Federal Reserve's recent hint at a slower pace of rate cuts in 2025 kept investors keenly awaiting a slew of economic data due this week to shed more light on that view. Spot gold fell 0.3% to $2,632.47 per ounce by 9:55 a.m. ET (1455 GMT). U.S. gold futures were down 0.4% at $2,644.50. "Bond yields are back up again, placing pressure on gold," said Nitesh Shah, commodity strategist at WisdomTree. Yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury Note rose to an over one-week high, making non-yielding gold less attractive. "We...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell for the second straight day on Monday and continued to slide from its highest level since November 2022 reached last week. The index maintained its negative bias through the first half of the European session and is currently hovering around the 108.70-108.65 area, down 0.25% for the day, although the fundamental backdrop warrants caution for bearish traders. The US ISM Manufacturing PMI improved from 48.4 to 49.3 in December, showing signs of economic resilience and growth potential amid optimism...
Oil prices fell on Monday amid a stronger U.S. dollar ahead of key economic data by the U.S. Federal Reserve and U.S. payrolls data later in the week. Brent crude futures were down 28 cents, or 0.4%, at $76.23 a barrel by 0800 GMT after closing at their highest since Oct. 14 on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 27 cents, or 0.4%, at $73.69 a barrel after closing at their highest since Oct. 11 on Friday. Crude prices posted gains in the previous five sessions on hopes of improved demand following cold weather in the Northern Hemisphere and more fiscal stimulus by...
Gold (XAU/USD) prices attracted some follow-through sellers at the start of a new week and retreated further from near three-week highs, around the $2,665 region touched on Friday. Prospects for a slower pace of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed) in 2025 remained supportive of the uptick in the US Treasury bond yields and turned out to be a key factor undermining the non-yielding yellow metal. Additionally, a positive risk tone exerted additional pressure on the safe-haven commodity and contributed to its offered tone for the second consecutive day. Meanwhile, the US Dollar...
Silver prices held steady around $29.50 an ounce on Monday as investors cautiously await key US economic data that could influence the Federal Reserve's monetary policy outlook. Among the upcoming reports, the market is mainly focused on the US monthly jobs report due on Friday, which could provide insight into whether silver will recover further. The white metal is also getting support from the positive economic outlook in China, the world's largest silver consumer. Beijing recently pledged "more proactive" macroeconomic policies and lower interest rates this year to stimulate...