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...
The dollar index held steady around 106.5 on Thursday after rising for four straight sessions even as the latest US consumer inflation data reinforced bets for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week. The CPI report showed that both headline and core inflation rates matched expectations in November, paving the way for the Fed to continue cutting rates. The market is now pricing in a near 100% chance that the Fed will cut by another 25 basis points next week. Investors are also looking ahead to producer inflation data due on Thursday for further direction. Meanwhile, the US dollar...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) halts its two days of losses against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday. The AUD remains stronger after the release of domestic mixed employment data. The seasonally adjusted Employment Change increased by 35,600, bringing the total number of employed people to 14,535,500 in November. This exceeded the previous reading of 12,100 and the expected figure of 25,000. Meanwhile, the Unemployment Rate fell to 3.9%, the lowest since March, lower than market estimates of 4.2%. The AUD/USD pair faced challenges due to the broadly stronger US dollar (USD) following the...
Gold rose for a fourth day after a key U.S. inflation report bolstered expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut when policymakers meet next week. Bullion traded above $2,720 an ounce — near its highest in more than two weeks — after consumer price index data on Wednesday rose in line with expectations. The report reinforced bets for a 25-basis-point cut at the Fed's final meeting of the year, with swaps traders now largely pricing in the move. Lower borrowing costs typically help bullion, as it pays no interest. Gold has risen by almost a third this year, hitting a string of records and...
GBP/USD moved swiftly on Wednesday, moving closer to 1.2750 after the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures for November broadly met market expectations. The rest of the week remains on the UK side of the economic calendar, with Cable traders facing the US Producer Price Index (PPI) figures on Thursday. US CPI inflation rose slightly for the year ended in November with headline CPI inflation rising to 2.7% YoY from 2.6%, while core CPI inflation held steady at 3.3% YoY. Monthly headline CPI inflation also rose in November, rising to 0.3% MoM from 0.2% in October. Despite the overall rise in...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose on Wednesday as China's decision on Monday to loosen monetary policy continues to support the commodity, while OPEC lowered its demand forecast for this year and next and a report showed a drop in U.S. inventories. WTI crude for January delivery closed up US$1.70 to settle at US$70.29 per barrel, while February Brent crude was last seen up US$1.25 to US$73.44. In its Monthly Oil Market Report released on Wednesday OPEC again lowered its demand-growth forecast for 2024 and 2025 demand. The cartel trimmed its outlook for this year by 210,000...