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 rose 1% on Friday and was on track for a weekly gain, spurred by expectations of a stimulus-driven economic recovery in China, the world's biggest oil importer, and by forecasts of lower U.S. inventories. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected U.S. crude stocks to have declined by about 1.9 million barrels last week and market sources said the American Petroleum Institute put the decline at 3.2 million barrels. Brent crude futures were up 74 cents, or 1%, at $74 a barrel by 1404 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 80 cents, or 1.15%, from Thursday's close to $70.42. For the...
Gold prices edged lower on Friday (12/27) as the US dollar index held steady, despite continued demand for safe-haven assets amid global geopolitical tensions. Gold futures for February delivery fell 0.11%, or $3, to settle at $2,650.90 an ounce by 10:36 a.m. KSA time and was on track for a weekly loss of around 0.10%. Spot gold was steady at $2,636.08 an ounce, while silver futures for March delivery were unchanged at $30,415 an ounce. Spot platinum fell 0.14% to settle at $938.48 an ounce. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was...
Silver (XAG/USD) prices fell near $29.60 in thin trading after the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays on Friday (12/27). The white metal came under pressure despite heightened tensions in the Middle East between Israel and Iran. On Thursday, Israel launched missiles at the Iran-backed Houthi military and bombed Yemini airport. Following the airstrike, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with Israel's Houthi TV station, "We have just started with them." Israel retaliated against last week's airstrike by Iran. Historically, rising geopolitical tensions increase...
EUR/USD traded in a narrow range around 1.0400 during the European session on Friday (12/27) amid thin trading as market participants stayed away due to the Christmas holiday. The currency pair struggled to find direction while the US Dollar (USD) strengthened on strong expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will follow a gradual policy easing path as inflation has recovered slightly in the past three months. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback against a basket of six major currencies, remained above the key support of 108.00. The USD's performance has remained...
The GBP/USD pair posted modest gains near 1.2520 during the early European session on Friday. However, the major currency pair's gains seem limited amid subdued trading activity and growing expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will deliver fewer interest rate cuts next year. According to the daily chart, the GBP/USD bearish outlook remains valid with the price holding the key 100-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA). The downside momentum is reinforced by the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI), which is located below the midline around 38.35, suggesting that further declines...