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 extended its steady uptrend in the Asian session and climbed to fresh intraday tops, around the $2,620 region in the last hour. Against the backdrop of persistent geopolitical risks and fears of a trade war, a modest pullback in the US Treasury bond yields provided some support to the commodity. However, any meaningful appreciating move for XAU/USD seems elusive in the wake of the Federal Reserve's (Fed) shift in its aggressive stance. In fact, the Fed last week hinted at slowing the pace of interest rate cuts in 2025. This helped the US Dollar (USD) to hold firm near two-year...
The Japanese yen (JPY) halted the previous day's decline against its US counterpart, although it lacked bullish conviction and remained close to the multi-month lows hit last week. The Bank of Japan's (BOJ) cautious stance on further interest rate hikes, coupled with the Federal Reserve's (Fed) hawkish policy shift, dampened expectations of a sharp narrowing in the US-Japan interest rate differential. This, along with a generally positive risk tone, continued to act as a headwind for the JPY. Meanwhile, a potential BOJ rate hike in January or March remains on the table following the...
Silver (XAG/USD) prices continued their uptrend for the third straight session, trading around $29.70 during the Asian trading hours on Tuesday. Prices of precious metals like Silver are likely to be supported by light trading activity ahead of the Christmas holiday. Additionally, weak US PCE data has eased inflation concerns, presenting a mixed economic outlook, which benefits non-yielding assets like Silver. However, Silver prices may come under downward pressure as traders continue to assess the Federal Reserve's (Fed) outlook for 2025, pricing in just two interest rate cuts in 2025...
Gold prices edged up in Asian trade on Tuesday, extending a sluggish performance as investors remained cautious about a rising dollar after the U.S. Federal Reserve's hawkish stance. Traders also refrained from placing big bets ahead of a holiday-shortened trading week. Spot gold edged up 0.2% to $2,617.22 an ounce, while February gold futures edged up 0.1% to $2,631.89 an ounce by 9:46 p.m. ET (0246 GMT). The yellow metal edged up 0.3% on Monday, after falling more than 1% in the previous week, reflecting uncertainty about the metal's outlook. Source: Investing.com
WTI crude oil futures climbed to around $69.5 per barrel on Tuesday, reversing losses from the previous session amid thin pre-holiday trading. Oil found support after fresh US data indicated that the economy of the key consumer remained strong heading into the year-end. Additionally, India's crude oil imports increased 2.6% year-on-year to 19.07 million metric tons in November, driven by strong demand amid rising economic and travel activity. However, concerns about potential oversupply next year kept prices under pressure. European supply fears also eased after reports that the Druzhba...