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 rose above $2,610 per ounce on Tuesday amid subdued holiday-season trading. Investors continued to assess the Federal Reserve's outlook for next year, factoring in a slower pace of rate hikes in 2025 after the Fed signaled fewer reductions. However, this view was challenged by softer-than-expected US PCE inflation, suggesting the possibility of more rate cuts, which benefits a non-yielding gold. Meanwhile, the World Gold Council reported strong central bank demand, reinforcing gold's status as a safe-haven asset, with central banks as net buyers for over 15 years. The metal is on...
The US Dollar Index (DXY) rose slightly on Monday, continuing to battle the 108.00 handle as investor confidence took a step back to kick off the holiday trading week. The DXY is still holding onto territory near recent highs, with the Greenback index closing in the green for all but three of the last 11 trading sessions. Monday's gain of around one quarter of one percent leaves bids on the high end of last week's late pullback, but price action is still capped below that Friday's peak of 108.50.(Cay) Newsmaker23 Source: Fxstreet
Gold eases as U.S. dollar, yields rise in thin holiday tradingGold prices edged lower in a subdued holiday-season trading on Monday, weighed down by a robust dollar and high U.S. Treasury yields as investors awaited clearer signals on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy for 2025. Spot gold was down 0.3% at $2,612.58 per ounce. U.S. gold futures eased 0.7% to $2,627.60. The dollar index was up 0.6% against its rivals, hovering around an over two-year high, reducing gold's appeal for holders of other currencies, while the benchmark U.S. 10-year yield also gained. "The market continues to...
The British Pound resumed its slide against its American rival in the American session on Monday, as the US Dollar (USD) found near-term demand in a risk-averse environment. The GBP/USD pair fell to an intraday low of 1.2473 following the release of mixed United Kingdom (UK) data. The UK reported that the Q3 Current Account posted a deficit of £ 18.099 billion, improving from the £-24.002 billion posted in the previous quarter. The Q3 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) suffered downward revisions, with the annual reading confirmed at 0.9%, below the 1% expected. The UK economy did not grow in...
The U.S. dollar rose on Monday, recovering from a sharp drop late last week on signs of easing inflation pressures, while the euro weakened after dovish comments from ECB chief Christine Lagarde. At 5 a.m. ET (10 a.m. GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, was trading 0.4% higher at 107.750, having fallen sharply from a two-year high on Friday. The dollar rose on Monday after falling sharply on Friday as the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge showed modest monthly price increases, with the underlying inflation measure posting...