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 Japanese Yen (JPY) edged higher against its US counterpart during the Asian session on Thursday, pulling away from a weekly low hit the previous day. Signs that underlying inflation in Japan is picking up continued to fuel expectations that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will raise interest rates again in December. Moreover, persistent geopolitical risks, trade war fears and an overnight decline in US Treasury yields further benefitted the low-yielding JPY. That said, Wednesday's aggressive remarks by a number of influential FOMC members, including Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome...
The Australian dollar (AUD) remained under selling pressure on Thursday. Disappointing Australian economic data and rising expectations of an early interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) dragged the Aussie lower. Additionally, concerns about potential import tariffs from President-elect Donald Trump may have contributed to the AUD's decline. Traders will be eyeing the US Initial Jobless Claims and the weekly Goods Trade Balance on Thursday for fresh impetus. Any sign of weaker US labor market data could undermine the greenback and help limit losses for the pair. On...
Gold price advances during Wednesday's North American session, sponsored by mixed US economic data. Nevertheless, the non-yielding metal remained slightly subdued as Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell crossed the wires. The XAU/USD trades at $2,652, up 0.35%. Powell said the US economy is in good shape, adding that September's rate cut was a message to support the labor market. He said that despite showing progress, it's premature to declare victory on inflation, and the US central bank could be cautious in setting monetary policy. Recently, inflation has proved to be stickier than...
Oil steadied after a decline, with traders looking ahead to an OPEC+ meeting on Thursday that's expected to see the cartel again defer a move revive shuttered capacity in an already well-supplied market. West Texas Intermediate traded near $69 a barrel after sliding by 2% on Wednesday, with Brent crude closing above $72. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are edging closer to agreeing to push back an increase in supply to stave off a glut in 2025. US data on Wednesday painted a mixed picture. While commercial stockpiles shrank by more...
U.S. oil futures finished lower Wednesday as pressure from uncertainty a day ahead of a decision by major oil producers on output levels outweighed support from weekly U.S. data showing a crude inventory drop of more than 5 million barrels. Investors also weighed news of deepening U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery fell $1.40, or 2%, to settle at $68.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after gaining 2.7% on Tuesday. February Brent crude, the global benchmark, lost $1.31, or 1.8%, at $72.31 a barrel on ICE Futures...